Undercover Pharaoh
by lucidscreamer
Summary: When an accident leaves Yugi in charge of the Mutous' new gameshop, he hires a handyman to help out. But the mysterious 'Yami Green' is much more than he seems. Uncovering the truth-and the mysterious Items-will lead them both to danger...and love. AU
1. Chapter 1

Warnings and Notes: This story is a male/male romance (Yami/Yugi). There will be fluff, there will be angst, there will be comedic misunderstandings and complications galore.

For those who've been keeping up with fic snippets on my LiveJournal, this is the story formerly known as "the handyman fic". And, yes, I know the title is cheesy. It's supposed to be. :)

Special thanks to my lovely pre-reader, Tex-chan, and to my hard-working beta readers: DragonDancer5150 and Kitt Chaos. All remaining errors and eccentricities are my own. (Unless Ffnet has done something headache-inducing again, like eat all my scene breaks or delete random words. For _that_, I take no responsibility.)

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. This alternate universe version is mine. (Unlike "Shadows on the Nile", this story is NOT a Harlequin romance novel fusion, though it may read like one. ;P)

**Undercover Pharaoh**

A novel by Lucidscreamer

Chapter 1

Yugi plopped down on the stool behind the game shop's wobbly sales counter, folded his arms on the countertop, and all but collapsed forward to rest his head on the pillow of his forearms. He let out an exhausted groan.

When his grandpa had bought this small shopping center in a newly renovated area on Domino City's waterfront, it had seemed like a terrific business opportunity. And so it had proven for the first six months. Then Solomon Mutou had taken a bad fall from a stepladder while attempting building repairs and ended up in traction.

With his grandpa out of commission until he recovered from his injuries, Yugi had dropped everything and taken over not only running the new game shop, but also managing the shopping center. At first, he had tried to keep up his evening classes at the local college, but meeting the demands of the center's other tenants was a full-time job in its own right. There were not enough hours in the day for him to work in the shop, take care of the Mutou Millennium Shopping Center, go to school, and still find time for luxuries like eating and sleeping. His mother had her hands full running the original game shop and taking care of Solomon, and his father was always away on business, so Yugi felt he had no choice but to put his classes on hold and take care of the new business until his grandpa was back on his feet.

As Yugi had discovered, however, even without his classes, there was still too much for one person to handle. So, with reluctance and a feeling of trepidation - after all, he had never been a boss before - he put a 'help wanted' sign in the front window. At the moment, he was too tired even to worry whether anyone would respond. All he wanted was to close the shop and sleep for a week.

The bell on the door jangled. Yugi groaned into his forearms and briefly considered sliding down out of sight behind the counter. If he pretended not to be here, would they just go away? Not that he could afford to turn away a customer… or a potential employee, for that matter. He groaned again. Life was so unfair.

Unable to convince his weary body to raise its head, he listened to the tap-tap-tap of stiletto heels stalking toward him across the shop's tile floor.

"Jeez, Yugi," drawled a sultry feminine voice. "You look like forty miles of bad road."

Yugi managed to turn his head far enough to meet the concerned eyes of the blonde woman leaning over the counter to peer down at him with a frown marring her pretty features. "Hi, Mai."

"Hi, hon. Rough day?"

"Rough week." He levered himself upright with visible and noisy effort, then offered Mai a wan smile. "That's a new look for you, isn't it?"

Mai Valentine was dressed to the nines in a fitted lavender jacket and matching pencil skirt. A silk shell the color of fresh milk peeped out from the open lapels of the short jacket. Her long blonde hair was swept up in a fancy twist Yugi didn't know the name for and secured with a gold clip. Her make-up was subtle, enhancing the vivid color of today's contact lenses, which were a soft violet. She cocked a sly smile at him. "Like it?"

"You look great," he said. Mai always looked beautiful. But the outfit was unlike her usual style, which tended toward tight bustiers and leg-revealing mini-skirts. "But what's the occasion?"

"I had a job interview at Kaiba Corp this morning." She laughed at his surprise. "A girl can't trade on her looks forever, you know. I'm not just a pretty face - I have an associate's degree in office administration. It's about time I got some use out of it."

Yugi blinked at her. That she had a degree didn't surprise him, but the location of her prospective employment did. "But… _Kaiba Corp_?"

"_Oh_, yeah." She buffed her French manicure on her lapel. "Kaiba's looking for a new executive assistant."

"You want to work for _Seto Kaiba_?"

"He's just a man, hon." She rolled her eyes at his expression. "Okay, he's a very rich man. That just means he can afford to pay me lots of money."

Yugi, who had briefly shared a classroom with Kaiba in high school, shook his head. He didn't think there was a salary large enough to entice him to work for the guy. "Well, if you're sure that's what you want…."

"What I _want_ is a villa in the south of France, a silver Porsche Boxster, and a 401k to die for. If it takes putting up with Mr. Moneybags to get it-" She shrugged. "It can't be worse than starving myself to look good on the runway." She nudged him with a perfectly painted fingernail. "You do what you gotta do, right, Yugi?"

Well, he certainly knew what she meant by that. He glanced around the shop; he was just doing what he had to do, too. He grinned at her. "Yep. So, what can I do for you, today?"

"Put in a good word for me with Vivian? She says the salon is booked solid for the next two weeks, but I have a follow-up interview with Seto Kaiba himself on Friday, and I have to look my absolute best."

Yugi blinked at her. "You want me to convince Viv to give you an appointment? How am I supposed to do that?"

"Come on, Yugi. No one can resist those big baby-blues of yours. Just give her the puppy eyes and she'll cave." She patted his cheek. "Pretty please?"

"But-"

"Great! I'll call you later." She sailed toward the front of the shop, arriving at the door just as it opened. "I'm counting on you, Yugi. Don't let me down."

"But, Mai-!"

"'Bye! See you tomorrow!"

Sighing, Yugi sank back down onto his seat and slumped onto the counter again. How on earth was he supposed to convince Vivian to give Mai a special appointment if the salon really was completely booked? He stared at the Africa-shaped water stain on the wall beside him and pondered the problem. Maybe if he moved the salon ahead on the maintenance schedule? Viv had been complaining that one of her shampoo sinks had stopped up again…

"Excuse me."

The deep, masculine voice startled Yugi out of his musings. He jumped - then stared at the man standing before the sales counter, a faint smile on his handsome face.

_Guh_. Yugi clamped his jaw shut before the sound could escape. Much.

The stranger was gorgeous. Of average height, he still towered over Yugi, who barely reached five foot nothing if he wore thick-soled shoes and thought tall thoughts. His unruly hair was thick and dark, and the edges caught the light to gleam with auburn fire. Bronzed skin, dark eyes that seemed to hold secret depths, and a smile that dazzled Yugi's already stunned senses completed the picture.

Yugi sat up straight and tried to sound as if he weren't on the verge of drooling. "Um. Hi. May I help you?"

"I'm here about the job."

The collar of the stranger's cotton shirt was unbuttoned; it gaped open to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of tanned skin over lean, sculpted muscle. The effort it took for Yugi to focus on the conversation - rather than the vivid fantasy of running his hands over that smooth skin that was suddenly playing in his mental theater - would have been embarrassing if enough of his brain cells had been paying sufficient attention to trigger his blush reflex. And if all the blood in his body hadn't already decided to head a lot farther south than his face. Instead, he managed to drag his gaze away from the fantasy - and the chest that had triggered it - and met the serious brown eyes of his visitor.

"…Job?"

"The sign in the window? 'Help wanted'?" The man frowned. Somehow, on him it looked good. "You haven't already found someone to fill the position, have you?"

"What? Oh. No! No, no, _no_…" Yugi realized he was babbling and forced himself to stop. He blinked at his visitor. Why would a guy who looked like a male model want to work at the game shop? "_You're_ interested in the job?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?" The stranger leaned on the sales counter, which wobbled as it shifted under the additional weight. He frowned at it.

"No, nothing's wrong. But…" Yugi gestured helplessly. "It's just that the job is mostly handyman stuff, here and for the rest of the shops in the building, and-"

"Like fixing this counter?" It rocked when the stranger gave it an experimental shove. He met Yugi's gaze and grinned. "I can do that."

"Yeah?" Yugi eyed him skeptically. The stranger didn't look like a potential handyman. He looked like a desert prince who had misplaced his royal robes. Yugi moistened his lips, buying himself a moment to consider. "You have experience?"

"I have all kinds of experience." The man winked.

Heat flooded Yugi's cheeks. Was this guy _flirting_ with him? Not that Yugi objected. But, in his experience, gorgeous guys who looked like they should be gracing a magazine cover rarely went for the short, somewhat geeky type. Did the guy need the job that badly? Oh, well. Whatever the reason for it, Yugi decided to enjoy it while it lasted. He smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Yugi Mutou."

"Yami… Green."

Yugi had no time to ponder the significance of the hesitation, or the quick way Yami's gaze had seemed to flicker over him during it, because Yami's warm palm was pressing against his and Yugi's knees had gone a bit weak. He was suddenly glad he was sitting down.

"I'm new in town," Yami said, retrieving his hand - much to Yugi's disappointment. "I'm afraid I have no local references to give you, although I can offer plenty from my hometown, if you like."

"Where are you from?"

"Egypt."

Yugi blinked. "Egypt? As in _Egypt_ Egypt? With, like, pyramids and pharaohs and stuff?"

Yami chuckled. "Yes, _that_ Egypt."

"But… Isn't the name 'Yami' Japanese?"

"Yes."

"And isn't 'Green' an English name?"

Yami shrugged.

"But _you're_ Egyptian?"

Yami's smile widened into a grin. "Yes."

Dazzled by the flash of even white teeth against golden skin, Yugi found it hard to care about the discrepancy. He shook his head to clear it, found it didn't work - and gave up. He would worry about it sometime when Yami wasn't smiling at him.

"Okay," he said weakly, and smoothed a nervous hand over his dark green t-shirt. "If you want the job, it's yours."

"Wonderful!"

If Yami kept smiling at him like that, Yugi was going to dissolve into a puddle of goo. It would be a _happy_ puddle of goo, but a puddle of goo nonetheless, and gooey puddles were not known for their ability to run shopping centers. Yugi shook himself again. "Okay. Can you start tomorrow morning?"

"Of course. Shall I bring my own tools?"

"There's a fully-stocked toolbox in the storage room."

"Very well. What time should I be here?"

"Does eight o'clock sound okay? We open at nine, so that would give us time to go over your duties and take care of the paperwork."

"I will be here at eight, then." With a final smile - each one was like a shot of sunlight injected directly into Yugi's brain. _Guh_. - Yami made his way back to the front of the store. He paused in the open doorway, the sun outlining him in gold like a gilded statue of some ancient king. "Thank you for hiring me, Mr. Mutou. You won't regret it."

Without waiting for a response, he vanished into the light.

Yugi collapsed back onto the wobbly counter, where he was in danger of drowning in his own drool. He groaned. The fleeting thought crossed his mind that 'regret' was going to be the least of his worries.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The newly-christened "Yami Green" (who had, on the spur of the moment, taken his _nome de guerre_ from the t-shirt Yugi Mutou had been wearing: it was green and had the words _Yami no Matsuei_ emblazoned on the front) exited the Kame Game Shop Number 2 with a tiny smile on his face.

That had gone better than he had expected. It was good fortune that he had spotted the "help wanted" sign in the shop window and formulated his plan on the spot. It was an even greater stroke of luck that the proprietor had not insisted on references, or even an accounting of Yami's qualifications for the handyman position, as Yami had no real work experience - at least, not the kind that required him to get his hands dirty. He found the prospect of venturing into such unknown territory oddly exhilarating.

He had barely made it halfway down the block before a sleek black automobile pulled alongside him and slowed to match his pace. One of the tinted windows lowered and a brusque voice growled, "I let you go in the damned shop alone. I am _not_ letting you walk back to the hotel unescorted. Get in the car."

Yami sighed, but decided not to argue. He opened the rear door and slid into the back of the car, which pulled smoothly away from the curb. "Fine, I'm in. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." The other passenger glowered at him through a fall of white-blond bangs. "Well? Was it the right place? Please tell me I did not just spend the last fifteen minutes elevating my blood pressure into the stratosphere for no reason."

"I was perfectly safe, you know-"

"Don't even start!"

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if you remember who's supposed to be the one in charge here, Bakura."

"Oh, please." Bakura rolled his eyes. "The fact that I refuse to kowtow to you is why you made me your personal guard, and you know it."

That much was true. It was nice to have someone around who wasn't afraid to look him in the eye - or to argue with him, though there were times when Yami would have preferred less arguing and more letting him do what he wanted, no matter how "dangerous" Bakura judged it to be. He was good at his job, but sometimes he took the whole protection thing too far. It had taken Yami almost ten minutes to convince his guard that he was unlikely to be assassinated in the time it took him to walk the five feet from the car to the shop's entrance, and Bakura had only given in because Yami had threatened to summon a certain Dark Clown to do his arguing for him.

"Besides," Bakura continued with a smirk, "when it comes to your safety, _I'm_ the only one whose opinion matters."

"You're lucky Isis isn't here to hear you say that."

Bakura snorted. "I'm not afraid of _you_, what makes you think your sister scares me? Now, stop stalling and tell me if the blasted Item was in that stupid game shop or not."

"It wasn't." Before Bakura could start on the rant Yami could clearly see brewing on the horizon, he hastened to add, "But I could sense a strong magical trace centered there. Someone who frequents the place has had repeated contact with at least one of the Items, maybe more."

"So, what do we do now? Hang around the game shop and stalk whoever stinks of shadow magic? That might appear a bit suspicious to the locals, and we have limited influence here."

"I've taken care of it."

"Oh, really?" Bakura studied him for a moment, then crossed his arms and scowled. "Why do I get the feeling you've done something that is going to make your sister attempt to murder me in my sleep for dereliction of duty?"

"I thought you weren't afraid of her?" It was Yami's turn to smirk.

"Healthy paranoia is not the same thing as fear. Now tell me what idiotic thing you've done, Your Majesty, so I'll know if I have to learn to sleep with one eye open or two."

"You don't already know how? Bakura-" Yami shook his head in mock disappointment. "-You're shattering my image of you as a cunning, invincible warrior."

"What. Did. You._ Do_?"

"I got a job."

Bakura boggled at him. Yami enjoyed the satisfaction of having rendered his opinionated bodyguard speechless for almost a full minute before Bakura finally recovered enough to respond.

"A job."

Yami nodded.

"You got a _job_."

Another nod.

"You got a _job_ at the _shopping center_."

This time Yami's nod was a tad uncertain. Bakura was beginning to turn red in the face and Yami found himself worried for the other man's health. Maybe he hadn't been exaggerating about his high blood pressure. "Yes, Bakura, I got a job at the shopping center. I knew you wouldn't be thrilled, but don't you think you're over-reacting?"

The ticking time-bomb named Bakura exploded.

"You got a thrice-damned _job_ at the fornicating _shopping center_ where the Sacred Items will no doubt be acting like Set-spawned _magnets_ for every power-hungry creature in three realms, and you have the gall to tell me I'm _over-reacting_? Have you lost your mind?"

"I think it's a good plan."

"There are so many things wrong with that sentence that I don't even know where to start, though 'think', 'good', and 'plan' spring immediately to mind."

"No, listen! It will give me a legitimate excuse to be around the center every day, so that I can find whoever has the Items." Yami held up a hand to forestall the objection he could see forming on Bakura's lips. "And it has to be me because I'm the only one who can sense their power signature, as you well know, so don't even try to talk me out of doing this. It will work."

"Uh-huh." Bakura remained supremely unimpressed with Yami's logic. "So, tell me, O Great One. What kind of job is this, anyway?"

"Handyman."

And they were back to the boggling.

"Will you stop doing that? You look like a fish out of water."

"You- Wha-? _Handyman_?" Bakura paused for another quick boggle. "_You_?"

"Yes, _me_." Yami folded his arms over his chest and glared at his companion. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"You've never done menial labor a day in your life! Have you ever even _held_ a hammer? Do you even know what one _looks_ like?"

"Now you're just being insulting."

From the way Bakura was reacting one would think Yami had announced his intentions to become a rocket scientist rather than a handyman. Sure, he lacked practical experience, but he wasn't stupid. He could figure things out as he went along.

"You are going to get yourself killed and then Lady Isis is going to murder me. Slowly. With dull spoons."

As the car cruised toward the hotel Yami and his entourage currently called home, Bakura mumbled further predictions of impending doom - most of which involved household implements and the Wrath of Big Sister Isis - which Yami did his best to ignore. His thoughts turned back to the game shop. So much depended upon finding the Items before they could fall into the hands of those who would abuse their power.

For the first time since leaving the game shop, Yami felt a frisson of apprehension race along his spine. The future of the three realms was riding on his shoulders. He had been aware of that responsibility almost from birth, but things were more immediate now, with the Sacred Items somewhere close at hand and his own, very personal, stake in finding the Puzzle... He shoved that worry away. He had to _find_ the Items before _that_ could become a factor.

For now, he would concentrate on tracking the traces of magical signatures he had sensed lingering at the game shop. And, to do _that_, he would have to become a handyman for awhile. He forced himself to relax against the plush leather seat.

It was just manual labor. How hard could it be?

-o0o-

* * *

It was the hardest thing Yami had ever done in his entire life.

Frustrated, he slammed the flat of his hand against the wall beside the recalcitrant air conditioning unit he had been attempting, for the last fifty minutes, to fix. If you could call glaring at a tangle of incomprehensible wires and tubes "fixing." By all the Gods! Why couldn't he figure out what to do with this stupid machine? His tutors had never indicated he might be lacking in intellectual prowess, but his continued failure at this task was beginning to make him wonder if his brain cells had gone on an unscheduled vacation. He scowled at the air-conditioner. He could almost hear the cursed thing laughing at him.

"Yami? Are you okay up there?"

Yami took a deep breath and forced the thrumming tension from his voice before leaning over the trapdoor to call down to Yugi. "I'm fine!"

"Okay. It's just that I've _tried_ percussive maintenance on that unit and it doesn't last. As you can probably tell by the distinct lack of cooling going on at the moment. So, I was hoping you, being a professional and all, could try something else."

"My hand slipped," Yami yelled back and then, very pointedly, closed the trapdoor.

Yami sat back on his heels and glared at the air conditioner some more. This wasn't working. He had no idea what he needed to do to fix the machine, but he couldn't confess his ignorance to Yugi, not if he wanted to keep this job. And, despite his current epic failure at it, he did want to keep the job. Not only so that he had a plausible excuse to stay near the shopping center, but because he wanted to prove to himself that he _could_ do it. He had taken Bakura's lack of faith in his ability to be a handyman as a challenge, and Yami never backed down from a challenge.

_So_. Yami ran his fingers through his hair and blew out a breath as he considered his options. He had to keep his job, and to do that, he had to figure out how to repair this Apep-spawned air conditioner. There was, therefore, only one thing to do.

With the stealth of a stalking lion, he moved away from the trapdoor. At what he judged to be a safe distance, he drew a black velvet pouch from the pocket of his jeans and spilled a handful of small metal tokens onto his palm. Each held a different, intricate glyph on one side and a drawing on the other. The glyph was a name; the picture, a portrait of the being bound to answer the token's summons. The hexagonal tokens glinted golden in the dim light as he sorted through them until he found the one he wanted.

He replaced the other tokens in the pouch. Then, holding the token that bore an image of a man in strange, curving armor, he whispered the spell that would summon the Dark Magician Mahaad.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A few minutes later, Yugi looked up from where he was restocking a shelf with collectible card game booster packs to watch his new handyman descend the ladder that extended up into the trapdoor in the ceiling. Yami's jeans were dark and snug, and hugged his long legs and lean hips like a second skin. Yugi envied them even as he admired the view.

_Niiiiice_ _ass_, Yugi thought, then mentally smacked himself. He really needed to stop drooling over the other man as if he were a piece of prime beef. Then again, as long as he didn't do it aloud, was he really hurting anything? Of course, if he ever slipped up and said something where Yami could hear him, the handyman was sure to lose any respect he might feel for Yugi. Were his salacious thoughts really worth the risk? Swearing to do better from now on, Yugi plastered on a smile just as Yami stepped off the ladder and turned to face him. "Did you get the AC unit fixed?"

"Yes." There was a strange undercurrent to Yami's answer, but Yugi couldn't figure out what it might mean. He didn't sound as if he were lying. "It should work fine now. Possibly even better than before."

"Really?" That was unexpected, if good, news. The air conditioning unit in question had been giving them trouble from the beginning, but it was too expensive to replace so soon after the acquisition of the shopping center.

Yami nodded. He wore a thoughtful, distracted expression, as if his mind were focused on something several thousand miles from the current conversation. Finally, he shrugged. "It shouldn't cause you any more problems. It may even be a bit more, er, energy efficient."

"Great!" Yugi beamed at him.

For the first time since he had climbed off the ladder, Yami seemed to really look at him. His expression softened and he met Yugi's grin with a faint smile of his own. "So, what's next, boss?"

"Could you take a look at the clogged shampoo sink in the salon next door? I kinda promised Viv I'd make it a priority on the maintenance schedule." And, in return, she had agreed to work Mai in for that emergency hair appointment.

"No problem." Yami hefted the toolbox he had lugged down the ladder with him. "I'll get right on it."

"Thanks."

"It's what you hired me for, right?" Yami grinned, and Yugi felt himself melt a little.

_Only because I didn't think you'd let me hire you to be my love-slave. _Yugi barely resisted slapping his own forehead with his hand. So much for reining-in his inappropriate thoughts. "…Right."

He watched Yami saunter toward the door, the heavy toolbox making the muscles in his arm flex and bulge in a distracting manner, and suppressed the urge to groan. He had to get his libido under control before he blurted out some of the things that kept springing into his mind whenever Yami was around. He didn't want to cause his new - and utterly drool-worthy - handyman to quit. Because, while it might be sheer torture to be near Yami every day and know that the man was so out of his league, not having Yami around to make a fool of himself over would be far worse.

-o0o-

The beauty salon - _Shear_ _Genius_, _Vivian Wong, Proprietor_ according to the sign painted on the door - was packed with female customers, all of whom angled for a gander at Yami when he walked inside. Unaccustomed to such reactions, he froze in mid-step and had to fight the urge to flee back out the door. Before he could act on the impulse, a tall, willowy woman with black hair caught up in twin buns on each side of her head put down the blow dryer she had been wielding like a weapon, and called, "Can I help you?"

He hefted the toolbox and reminded himself that this woman had no idea of his true identity. Surely, therefore, she would only react to him as she might to any normal man. "I'm the new handyman. Yugi sent me over to look at your plumbing."

The woman, presumably Vivian Wong, ran her gaze over Yami in a way that made him feel as if he needed a scalding shower. "Remind me to thank him." She licked her lips. "You can clean my pipes _anytime_."

Yami felt his cheeks flame. The boldness of women in this country still came as a shock to him after the sheltered life he had led in his home village. There, most who spoke to him usually did so with downcast eyes and fear and awe in their voices. _None_ of them had ever eyed him as if he were a piece of meat they were contemplating having for lunch.

An uncomfortable feeling of foreboding prodded him in the gut. The Sacred Items, including the long-lost Puzzle, were somewhere in this country - near this very place, if Isis' dreams and his own senses were correct. And, according to prophecy, Yami's destiny lay with the one who solved the Puzzle. If that 'one' turned out to be like these women, could he deal with it? Could he bond with someone so unlike that to which he was accustomed? He glanced at the women getting their hair cut, curled, and styled and fervently hoped that none of them were good with puzzles.

Pushing his worry aside for now, he resumed his trek across the salon, doing his best to ignore the lingering gazes of the women as he passed them. The air stunk of chemicals - perm solutions and dyes, as well as disinfectants - and the thick pseuo-floral odor of some kind of air freshener that was failing to live up to the name.

"Yugi said you have a clogged sink."

Viv sighed. "This way, hot stuff. It's in the back."

She led him to a shampoo station near the back of the long room, which stretched the entire width of the building. "Damn thing keeps backing up. I think I've poured enough Drano down it to single-handedly keep the company in business for a long time to come. Think you can fix it for me? I'd be _ever_ so grateful."

Ignoring the husky words and the fluttering eyelashes that accompanied them, he opened his toolbox and dug out a likely-looking tool, which he waved at Viv. "I'll see what I can do."

He glanced around, taking in the open layout of the beauty salon. This would be trickier than Yugi's air conditioning unit. He couldn't risk summoning one of his friends where everyone could see. Still… He looked again. The clogged sink was set slightly to one side, partially hidden by a waist-high cabinet that housed various bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Maybe he could pull this off, after all.

Crouching, he angled his body into the cramped space between the sink and the shampoo chair bolted to the tiled floor in front of it. It took some squirming, but he contorted his body until he got his head and shoulders under the sink. He spent a moment staring at the curving pipes, then tapped the one shaped like a metal elbow with the tool he had selected earlier. From his position, all he could see of Viv were her feet and calves as she stood watching him 'work'.

"I may be a while." His voice sounded muffled even to his own ears. "You don't have to watch."

"Oh, it's not like you're hard on the eyes, handsome." She crouched to peer at him under the sink. "But I'll leave you to it. We're booked solid and I've got an emergency hair appointment due in an hour. Think you can have this thing working properly by then?"

"I'll give it my best shot."

He waited until she had moved away, her sensible low heels clacking on the tiles, then pulled his golden tokens from their velvet pouch. He sorted through them quickly, looking for… _Ah-ha!_ He smirked at the token in his hand, which bore the image of a round, fuzzy creature with huge eyes and chubby paws. _This should do the trick_.

As quietly as possible, Yami summoned the Kuriboh Miu, shrunk him down to size, and sent him into the clogged drainpipe.

-o0o-

Yami spent fifteen minutes crouched in the space under the sink, pretending to work by occasionally clanking a wrench against the pipes and hoping no one looked too closely at what he was doing. When Miu returned from his mission - wet and bedraggled, his fur matted and slimy - Yami breathed a sigh of relief. He had gotten away with it! Seeing the unhappy state of the little Fiend as he reverted to his normal size, Yami whispered his thanks and the promise of a bubble bath later as a reward for Miu's help. Miu cooed softly at him, then vanished back into the other dimension from which he came.

Yami got to his feet, stretched the kinks from his back and legs, then turned on the water to test that the pipe really was clear. He trusted his furry friend, but plumbing was no more the Kuriboh's usual task than it was Yami's. Besides, he had to keep up the pretense that _he_ was the one performing the repair work. He smiled as the water vanished unimpeded down the drain.

"Finished already?"

Yami jumped, startled by the unexpected voice in his ear. Viv had appeared beside him, watching the sink drain.

"Perfect!" She tilted her head, favoring him with a predatory smile that set off alarm bells in his hindbrain. "I think such fine work deserves a reward, don't you?"

"Uh…" He retreated as she leaned into him, but not fast enough to stop her from shoving her fingers into his hair. Unused to being touched - much less out-and-out accosted - by a stranger, he froze. "Hey!"

She ignored the yelp. "Have you ever considered doing something new with your hair? It's okay - great texture, nice and thick." She tugged at the dark strands, playing with them as she considered. She had both hands in his hair now, and kept trying to tug his head down for a closer look. "But this style, and I use the word loosely, does zero for you."

"No, I-" He fell back another step, tilting his head to try to get out of range of her exploring fingers. "No, _really_, it's fine the way it is."

Viv followed. "Oh, come on. It won't hurt - and it'll only take a minute." She snatched up a bottle from the work counter and squirted something blue and viscous into her hand. "How about some spikes? Those would really-"

"No! I-"

Too late. He dodged, but she had feinted to the side and had her hands back in his hair before he could finish the refusal. He winced as he felt the cold, goopy stuff on his scalp. _Yuck_. What was she rubbing into his hair? Some kind of styling product? She tugged at his hair, pulling it up and away from his head before stepping back with a satisfied smirk.

"There. All done." She grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face the room. Only then did Yami realize they had an attentive audience. "What do you think, girls?"

"_Niiiiice_," drawled the brunette at the manicure table.

"Hot!" opined the redhead under the stand dryer.

"He needs more color," was the verdict of the peroxide-blonde holding a bottle of hair dye in each hand. "More dramatic that way. Maybe some highlights or just the tips - and we should definitely bleach his bangs."

"_Oooh_! _Yeah_. Blond bangs would look hot!"

"I swear that's your new favorite word, Chantelle. Or should I call you 'Paris'?"

"Well, they _would_!"

"So, what color for the bangs, then? Platinum Spark?"

"Hot Honey!"

"No." Viv spun a stunned and unresisting Yami to face the mirror. He stared at his reflection. His hair looked as if he had jammed a finger in an electrical outlet. Viv shook her head. "I've got it! Egyptian Gold."

"_Ooh_, that would be-"

"Chantelle!"

"-um, extremely warm?"

The brunette made a strangled sound and buried her face in her palm. The blonde started rummaging through bottles of dye, presumably hunting for one labeled "Egyptian Gold." Yami darted his gaze around the room, wondering how he was going to escape with his dignity - and hair - intact.

Viv herded him toward the newly unclogged shampoo station. "Come on, don't be a spoilsport. Yugi lets us do _his_ hair all the time."

Well, that explained the tall, flame-red spikes and the bright golden bangs. Yami caught himself wondering if they were Egyptian Gold, and shook his head to clear it. Why was he thinking about Yugi's hair when he should be finding an escape route? "Look, I _really_ have to get back to work-"

"I'll give you a discount on the dye job." The blonde stylist winked at him and waved what looked like a torture instrument for hair in his direction.

Yami blanched and his stomach curdled. Clutching the toolbox like a shield, he edged toward the distant door and prayed to the Great Lady Hathor for a miracle. If he got out of this in one piece, he would never again complain about Bakura's overprotectiveness. He would be _grateful_ for his bodyguards; he would even be happy to see his _sister_, right now.

Behind him, the door swung open and a welcome voice called, "Yami? Are you finished with the sink? Because I need you to-"

Yugi! Yami lunged for him like a drowning man grabbing the last life preserver on the _Titanic_. His words ran over themselves in his haste to get out of the salon. "Great, Yugi, whatever you need, it's yours, let's just _go_!"

Yami threw one arm around Yugi's shoulders, hustled him back out the door, and didn't stop moving until they were in the game shop with the door safely closed behind them. He dropped the toolbox with a clang, collapsed against the door, and shut his eyes in sheer relief.

Someone snickered.

Cracking open one eye, Yami glared at the culprit, who grinned without repentance at him.

"You look like you just narrowly escaped being the main course at a cannibal banquet." Yugi snickered again.

"I feel like I just escaped a fate worse than death," Yami retorted. He shook his head as he straightened. "Are they always like that?"

"Pretty much."

"Then, I think I'll have to demand hazard pay for going over there in the future." Yami started to shove his fingers through his hair, encountered his new, stiff "spikes", and grimaced. He would have to shampoo twice just to get all the styling junk out of his hair. "What did that insane woman do to me?"

"Aw, it looks good."

Yami froze, one hand still poised over his head. Yugi thought the spikes improved his appearance? Slowly, he lowered his hand, leaving his hair undisturbed. "…You think so?"

"_Ooh_, yeah."

Huh. Yami blinked as he processed this new information. Yugi not only sounded sincere, he sounded… _really_ sincere. Pondering this unexpected development, Yami bent to pick up the toolbox. Maybe he'd leave the spikes in. For now. And he might pick up some of that styling junk on the way home.

Maybe.

But there was no way in the tangled pathways of the Duat that he was letting those crazy women bleach _anything_ of his. No matter how much he suspected Yugi might like it.

-o0o-

The rest of the day passed without further incident. None of the chores Yugi gave Yami were anything he couldn't handle, much to his relief. As the two of them restocked the shelves of the game shop, Yugi struck up a friendly conversation.

"So..." Yugi peered at him over a large box of pewter dragon figurines. "Where did you go to school?"

"I had private tutors."

"Oh."

Yami shrugged. "We lived in a rather isolated area. It would have been... impractical for me to attend a school. I didn't mind so much - it let me learn at my own pace and in a wide range of subjects. My brother hated it, but his mind was always on something other than education."

"I always wanted a brother or a sister when I was a kid." A wistful expression stole over Yugi's face. "Or just someone to play with, really."

"Me, too." Seeing Yugi's surprise, Yami elaborated. "My siblings and I are not very close, I'm afraid. My sister is several years my elder and my younger brother... Let's just say we have never seen eye to eye on many things." And the other children had never seemed to want to play with him, even on those rare occasions when his guardians might have allowed it.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Yami waved away the sympathy. "What about your family? You have no siblings?"

"Nope, it's just me, Mom, and Grandpa. Well, my dad's still around, but he's always away on business, so I don't get to see him much."

"Oh. That's too bad."

Yugi made a gesture that sort of looked like a conflicted shrug. "What about your parents? Do you see them much?"

"My mother... I don't really remember her." Yami's nurse had raised him, though Isis had often tried to take on a maternal role, despite the fact that she was only six years his senior. He had vague impressions of maternal warmth and comfort, but he only knew what his mother looked like because of her portrait in the family shrine. "She died when I was three years old."

"Oh. Sorry." Yugi looked at him with sympathetic eyes and hesitated before venturing, "What about your dad?"

Unable to help himself, Yami snorted a tiny laugh. He had never thought of his father as "dad" - and the man would never have allowed such informality between them, even if Yami had been so inclined. "He's back home in Egypt, where I'm sure he is wrapped up in his usual pursuits."

"I still can't get my brain around that, you know." At Yami's questioning expression, he elaborated. "You're from Egypt and you're named 'Yami Green'. It doesn't compute."

Yami laughed and, for half a second, considered telling Yugi his real name. Somehow, though, he didn't think "Akhnumkhanen Atem-ré Meryamun" would be any easier for Yugi to "compute". And those were just his _personal_ names. When one added all his various titles and epithets, the list got significantly longer. No, better stick to "Yami", for now. Aloud, he simply said, "My family has some rather unusual traditions."

"I know how that is." Yugi grinned. "In my family, we've got this set of journals that's been passed down from one generation of Mutous to the next. They're full of nothing but notes on this one game that no one's been able to figure out. My dad alone filled up half a book with his theories, but even he couldn't solve the thing. I think he was relieved to get rid of it when I turned eighteen and, in accordance with family tradition, it passed to me."

"And, have you figured out the game?"

Yugi laughed. "Not even close! In fact, I-"

A rowdy gaggle of pre-teen boys entered the store, demanding Yugi's attention. He shot Yami an apologetic look. "Sorry, I have to-"

"No problem. I'll clean up the empty boxes while you deal with the customers."

"Thanks, Yami." Yugi smiled before turning to keep an eye on the boys, who had spread out among the shelves and were calling out to one another as they exclaimed over new merchandise.

Yami grinned to himself, shook his head - feeling anew the strangeness of his new hairstyle - and went to clean up the cartons and packing materials littering the game shop floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At the end of the work day, Yami bid Yugi good-bye and made his way, alone, outside. He had gotten less than halfway across the parking lot before he spotted a familiar head of white-blond hair. Leaning against the "no loitering" sign attached to one of the security light posts dotting the lot, Bakura smirked at him.

"Behold the returning hero - oh, excuse me, _handyman_." Bakura fell into step beside Yami, matching him stride for stride. "I'd say I'm astonished you made it through the day without injuring yourself, except you appear to have jammed a screwdriver into a light socket at some point. What the hell happened to your hair?"

"Shut up."

"No, seriously. You look like an electroshocked echidna."

Ignoring the jibe, Yami cut him a sideways glare. "Have you been lurking out here in the parking lot all day?"

"No, I went on a brief ski jaunt in the mountains while you were playing repairman." Bakura scowled at him. "_Of course_ I've been 'lurking' out here all day. I'm your damn bodyguard! Where else would I be?"

"Well, you can't keep doing that. Someone will see you and call the police," Yami pointed out, his calm tone a sharp contrast to Bakura's agitation. "That was the whole point of my taking this job, you know, to avoid attracting unwanted attention."

"And here I thought you took it to drive your lady sister into an early tomb. If you don't want me loitering in the parking lot, what do you expect me to do?" Not waiting for an answer, Bakura held up a warning hand and snapped, "If you say anything even remotely resembling 'leave me here alone and unguarded', I swear by all the Gods that I will smack you, king or no."

"I am unlikely to come under attack while working in a game shop, Bakura. Be reasonable. "

Bakura gave him an incredulous look. "Have you _met_ me? I don't do 'reasonable.' And you certainly did _not_ leave your place of employment unscathed, O Spiky One. Were you, perhaps, assaulted by ninja hairdressers?"

"That wasn't at the game shop. It was next door in the Den of Evil, Hair-defiling Women." Yami ran a hand over his stiff, spiky 'do. "I dare say the damage is limited to my dignity - and is only temporary."

"Uh-huh. Yes, I'm sure that argument will go over splendidly with your sister." They were both well aware of Isis' stance on the subject of the Pharaoh's dignity. "Speaking of Lady Isis... You _do_ know that, once she sees this-" Bakura waved a hand at Yami's new coiffure. "-she is going to give you the Look? That'll make the third time in as many days. Is Your Majesty going for a new record?"

Yami tipped his chin and slanted a glower at his smirking guard. "You're keeping score?"

"Think you can try for one more Look by Friday? The Medjai betting pool is up to almost five hundred American dollars."

"That isn't much of a pension," Yami mused, his tone deceptively mild.

Bakura's expression betrayed his confusion. "Pension?"

"After I am forced to replace you for spreading your disrespectful attitude amongst my Medjai."

A moment of silence stretched between them. Finally, Bakura ducked his chin in a subtle bow. "Good thing I was only joking about the betting pool, then."

The tension dissipated.

"Yes. Very."

"Not about the Look, though."

"No." Yami didn't bother resisting the urge to sigh.

No, he was definitely going to get a full dose of Isis' patented Look, an expression that fully deserved the capital letter. He had already gotten a taste of it when he had informed Isis of his new employment. He was well-practiced in handling the Look, as he had been enduring it since he was six years old and Isis had become convinced it was her duty to single-handedly shape her little brother into a model Pharaoh. Over time, he had become immune to the Look, but hoped she would spare him the umpteenth rendition of the "behavior unbefitting your station" lecture that usually accompanied it. After twenty years of hearing said lecture, he could practically mouth the words along with Isis, like some bizarre "I'm horribly disappointed in you and your behavior" sing-along.

Hearing the purr of a well-tuned automotive engine, Yami glanced up from his reverie to find the car - no doubt summoned by Bakura via the phone he held in one hand - had pulled alongside them. Bakura held open the rear passenger door for him and waited until Yami had slid into the back seat before joining him inside the car.

"Never fear. As your loyal guard, I shall, of course, protect you from your scary big sister." His smirk mutated into a wide, wicked grin. "And, if all else fails, you can always threaten to smite her with those ridiculous spikes on your head."

-o0o-

Over his guard's numerous objections, Yami insisted on stopping at a convenience store on the way back to their hotel. At the store, he purchased a large bottle of bubble bath liquid and, after some internal deliberation, a tube of hair gel. Once back at the Domino Regency Hotel, Bakura shepherded his charge up to the penthouse suite. After dismissing his bodyguard, Yami ducked into the _en suite_ bathroom and ran the tub full of warm water. He tipped in several capfuls of the bubble bath liquid and watched the tub fill with fragrant purple suds, then took out the Kuriboh Miu's token and summoned him into the human world.

The little fiend chirruped happily when he saw the waiting bath and plunged in without hesitation. Dried gunk, from his earlier trip down the drain-pipe, still caked Miu's fur. Feeling guilty for the state of the poor creature's appearance, Yami leaned over the side of the deep tub and scooped up a handful of suds. Wetting Miu's fur, he began working the suds into the tangles.

"I'm sorry you got so dirty." Yami scrubbed gently at a particularly matted clump. "But I thank you for your aid, my friend. I couldn't have done it without you."

The Kuriboh puffed up with pride. Stubby green paws paddled at the water as he peered up at Yami with earnest purple eyes that reminded him of a certain game shop proprietor.

"I wish I could introduce you to Yugi. You'd like him, I think. And I know he would love you."

Miu cooed a question.

Yami didn't even have to consider his answer. "Yes, I like him. Very much. He is-"

What was Yugi? A charmer, certainly. A friend? The idea stopped his thoughts in their tracks. Before Bakura, Yami hadn't had any human friends - and awareness of his place as king tainted even that relationship. There were things he could never confide in his bodyguard, no matter how close they might have become. Thankfully, Miu was a good listener. Even so, the realization that he might have made a true human friend... Warmth suffused Yami's chest and he smiled. "He's my friend."

A curious chirrup.

"Of course you're still my best friend," Yami assured him. "Nothing is going to change that."

Thoughts drifting back to how the two of them had met, Yami felt the smile slip from his face. Miu was the first creature - human or otherwise - in Yami's memory to treat him as a _person_, not a vaguely human thing to be set on a pedestal. It probably helped that Miu was a cub when they first met, no older than the child who had accidentally summoned him, and unaware of the prophecies surrounding the reborn Pharaoh. Unlike the other children in Yami's village, Miu hadn't cared about Yami's appearance, since to him anything that wasn't a Kuriboh was pretty strange-looking. For the first time in his life, the boy-king had someone to play with.

Miu eyed him for a long moment, as if sensing the melancholy that had suddenly invaded Yami's thoughts. He sent a wave of water splashing into Yami's face, soaking his bangs and deflating the spikes in his hair so that it hung down in a dripping curtain over his forehead.

"Hey!"

Miu giggled and splashed him again, soaking his shirt and a good portion of the bathroom floor. Yami plucked at the material plastered to his skin and pretended to glower at his fuzzy friend. "Now you're going to get it!"

He grabbed the still giggling creature and dunked him under the water. Miu surfaced a second later and managed a mini tidal wave that drenched Yami from head to toe. Trails of water and hair gunk trickled down his face.

Yami let out a mock growl and pounced.

The water battle was on!

-o0o-

Still bent over the tub, dripping wet but grinning happily, Yami heard someone clear their throat behind him. His heart sank and he knew who he would find long before he turned to look.

Isis stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, her toes tapping, and a scowl of disapproval on her face. Without preamble, she jumped straight to the cause of her displeasure. "Why is there a Kuriboh in your bath tub?"

"I promised him a bubble bath." Yami said matter-of-factly, turning his attention back to Miu - still splashing happily in a mountain of suds - who gave a cheerful coo of agreement. "Yes, you can take as long as you like. I'm glad you're having fun."

After what Yami had asked of Miu, letting him linger as long as he wanted in the bubbles was the least Yami could do.

"_Atem_."

Yami suppressed a sigh. So much for hoping Isis would let it drop. "I'll send him back once he has finished his bath."

"You know you're not supposed to summon creatures from the Dark Realm outside of the ancient rituals - and only then under proper supervision." Arms crossed over her chest, she frowned sternly at him. "Dark Realm creatures are not to be trusted. They are dangerous monsters that-"

"Miu is my _friend_."

Isis' brows drew together into the intimidating expression Yami had dubbed the Look, the one that had always guaranteed his obedience when he was younger. "Send it back at once, Atem."

"Not until he's clean and dry." Yami's eyes narrowed. "I gave _my word_, Isis. You wouldn't want me to go back on my promise, would you?"

"Of course not, but-" She broke off as he let out the water out of the tub and began to towel off the top of the Kuriboh's head. When she spoke again, her voice was louder and full of anger. "It is not appropriate for you to play body servant to anyone, least of all a Dark Realm monster!"

"_The Kuriboh Miu_ is not a monster, he is my _friend_." He cut her off sharply, his blunt tone and emphasis of the Kuriboh's title as well as his personal name a warning for her not to further insult the little Fiend. "You would do well to remember that - and who I am."

Her dark eyes flashed with anger, but she lowered her gaze. "I always remember who you are, Atem. More so than you do, it seems."

"You are my sister and I love you," he said, weary of the same argument they had on an increasingly frequent basis. "But do not forget the lessons you, yourself, taught me. I am the Pharaoh, reborn. My will is the law."

"I do not dispute that. I am merely concerned for you safety."

Yami tried to stifle an inelegant snort. He wasn't very successful. He looked down at Miu's big, trust-filled eyes. The Kuriboh would die for him, if need be - Yami knew that, though he would never ask it. But such loyalty meant Isis' concerns were ludicrous. He shook his head. "I know. You needn't be - about this, at any rate."

Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say. From the corner of his eye, he saw her stiffen.

"Bakura informs me that you plan to continue with this ridiculous job as a menial laborer." The tone was cutting.

Yami could practically feel the Look slicing into his unprotected back like the blade of a dagger. "I do, yes."

"_Atem_-"

"And I would prefer you to call me 'Yami', at least for as long as we are in Domino City." He glanced over his shoulder in time to see her affronted expression.

"I will do no such thing!" The closest Isis ever got to informality was using the diminutive 'Atem' rather than his full name, and he suspected that was more of a lingering childhood habit than an attempt to humor his wishes. "Where did you even come up with such a thing, anyway?"

"Uh-"

"I told him it was a stupid name," Bakura interjected, gliding into view just beyond the open doorway. "Of course, he never listens to me." He offered a distracted bow to Isis before turning his attention to the drenched duo in the bathroom. "You know, as looks go, drowned rat isn't much improvement over electroshocked echidna."

Miu growled and Yami frowned, but it was Isis who voiced real displeasure at the guard's flippancy. "Show your king the respect he is due."

"Oh, let him have his fun." Yami dismissed the supposed insult with a gesture. "Bakura, make yourself useful and find me some extra towels - and a blow-dryer."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Yes, O Great One. Shall I fetch a stylist from the Den of Hair-Defiling Women to help you utilize it?"

"Don't you dare." Yami turned to glare at him. "You know, I'll bet Vivian would love to get hold of _your_ hair. Perhaps you would like it dyed blue? Or would fuchsia suit you better?"

"Towels and a blow-dryer, coming right up, Your Majesty!" In a flash, Bakura disappeared, presumably to seek out the requested items.

"I will never understand why you insist on letting him talk to you that way," Isis complained.

"It makes me feel human." And it reminded him that he was, even if part-divine, still just a man. Yami thought that was probably good for him. Despite what the rest of his family seemed to think, how could he be a good ruler to his people if he forgot he was one of them?

She shook her head. "Of course you are human, Atem. But you are also a god. You need to remember that, however much you might like to forget it."

"There's no danger of that with you around to remind me." It came out sounding more snide than he had intended, but it was too late to take it back. He saw the hurt that flickered in her dark eyes before she hid it behind her usual stern mask. "Isis, I-"

"Have you found any further traces of the Sacred Items?"

Suppressing a sigh, Yami swallowed his apology and allowed the change of subject. "No, not yet. However, the magical signature is strong at the game shop. Someone who frequents the place has definitely had repeated contact with at least one of the Items."

"I suppose that means you will want to remain there." She sighed. "It can't be helped, then. But I must insist that you find a way to keep Bakura nearby."

"As if I would allow him to stay there unguarded." Bakura had returned, his arms loaded with a stack of thick Turkish towels. He slipped past Isis into the room and handed Yami one of the towels. "I sent one of the maids to find you a blow-dryer."

"Thank you." Taking the towel, Yami knelt by the tub and began toweling Miu's fur dry. Behind him, Isis made a disdainful noise and swept away in a huff.

Bakura snorted. "Well, _she's_ not happy."

"That surprises you?" It shouldn't. Bakura knew her almost as well as Yami did.

"Hardly." Bakura came to kneel beside him, taking a second towel and draping it around Yami's shoulders to catch the water dripping from his hair. Using the corner of a third towel, Bakura dabbed at Yami's wet hair. Of course, Yami had a bodyservant, but neither man bothered to call for him. "I know I tease you about it, but I don't understand why you allow her to speak to you like that."

The irony of that statement wasn't lost on either of them. "She's my sister."

"_You're_ the Pharaoh."

Turning his head to stare incredulously at his guard, Yami said, "Don't start showing respect for my position now, Bakura. I don't think my heart can take the shock."

"Drama king," Bakura sneered, then straightened to his full height and pulled a small object from his pocket. "I have something for you."

Surprised, Yami looked at the thing in his guard's hand. "A cell phone? But I already have a-"

"Consider this one an upgrade. It's the latest smartphone, with internet access and GPS. It will allow me to keep track of you much easier from a distance." Bakura touched the screen and showed him the user interface. "Not to mention that I've pre-loaded it with some do-it-yourself websites that will hopefully keep you from injuring yourself in a freak carpentry accident or plumbing debacle."

At the mention of plumbing, Miu voiced his opinion on the subject. It didn't sound favorable. Looking between them, Bakura raised both eyebrows. "What did you do to the poor Kuriboh?"

"He helped me out with a plumbing debacle."

"Figures." Bakura gave the Kuriboh a stern look. "Next time, make him do his own dirty work."

Miu's eyes squinted shut in a huge grin. "Kuree!"

"Ha!" With a satisfied nod, Bakura dropped his final towel over Yami's head and sailed from the room, closing the door behind him.

Beneath the terry cloth veil, Yami muttered, "Thanks a lot! Now what will I do when one of Viv's sinks clogs?"

"Kuur?"

Yami shoved the towel back from his face to find Miu watching him with concerned eyes. He patted the furry creature on the head. "I was only joking, Miu. I'm not going to ask you dive into any more nasty pipes. I promise."

Miu watched him carefully for a second, then beamed and flicked water at him with one still-damp paw.

In spite of himself, Yami laughed. No matter what, Miu always knew how to make him feel better. "Thank you, my friend," Yami whispered and gave Miu a hug.

-o0o-

Home from another day at the shopping center, Yugi spared a few minutes to run up to his room and check his email. A message from Téa, in New York, made him smile. She was practically gushing with excitement over the small part she had landed in an off-off Broadway production. He went through a few more messages from various friends, and flagged one from Professor Hawkins to read later. Shutting down his browser, he grabbed the phone and called his best friend, Joey Wheeler, to confirm their plans to meet at Burger World on Sunday, the one day the Mutou Millennium Center was closed. Finally, Yugi headed back downstairs to help his mother prepare dinner.

When the meal was ready, Yugi carried a tray of food out to the living room where a hospital bed had been set up for his grandfather. Solomon would be confined to bed for at least another month and he wasn't happy about it, as evidenced by the way he fidgeted with the covers while he waited for Yugi to pull the bed-table into position and place the tray on it. By the time Yugi finished settling everything within easy reach, Solomon wore a distinct pout and was fairly vibrating with impatience.

"Stop fussing with all that and tell me how things went at the new store," Solomon finally demanded.

Startled by the outburst even though he knew it was coming, Yugi dropped the spoon he was holding. It bounced off the edge of the tray and flung itself under the bed. Yugi huffed. "Grandpa! Don't _do_ that."

"Sorry." Looking properly chastened, though it was an obvious effort, Solomon subsided against his freshly fluffed pillows. "I just hate being stuck in this bed all day."

"I know."

When Solomon used the bed controls to shift the bed into a more comfortable position, Yugi hurried to adjust the pillows behind his grandfather's back. Solomon patted his hand in passing. "Thank you, Yugi. You're a good kid."

"Grandpa! I'm twenty-three. When are you gonna stop calling me a kid?" Yugi knew he still looked like a teenager thanks to his big eyes, rounded cheeks, and short stature, but he didn't have to like being reminded of that fact. Was it too much to still hope for a growth spurt at his age? He wasn't asking to suddenly shoot up to six feet or anything; he'd be happy with just being able to shop for clothes somewhere other than the kiddie department.

Solomon chuckled. "Wait until you're my age, m'boy. Then you'll _wish_ people were still calling you 'kid'."

"You're probably right." Over his momentary fit of pique, Yugi bent to dig the spoon out from under the bed, and then went to get a clean one from the kitchen.

When Yugi returned, Solomon was nibbling at a piece of bread. He accepted the new spoon with a murmured 'thanks', then said, "Did you have a good day, today? How's the new handyman working out?"

"Just fine. He fixed the air conditioner in the game shop. And he unclogged that sink Viv is always complaining about."

Solomon '_hmmed_' thoughtfully. "Well. Sounds like he knows what he's doing."

Yugi nodded. "Yep. Viv likes him." He grinned. "She wants to style his hair for him."

"Oh-ho!" Solomon chortled. "Lucky man. I wouldn't mind letting Vivian Wong run her fingers through _my_ hair."

"Grandpa!" Yugi rolled his eyes. Though in his seventies, Solomon Mutou still had an irrepressible eye for the ladies.

Coming in from the kitchen with her own tray, Yugi' mother joined the conversation. "Do you think he would take a look at our air conditioner?"

"Who? Yami?"

She nodded. "It's making that funny noise again. We would pay him for the extra time, of course."

"I'll ask him." Yugi paused for a thoughtful sip of his soda. "I don't know what he did to the one at the shopping center, but it's never worked better."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As he walked toward the shopping center the next morning, Yugi gave himself a stern talking to. He knew he needed to be more professional around Yami, but the other man's charm - and undeniable attractiveness - made it next to impossible. Yugi didn't want to keep his distance. It was more fun to accept Yami's sweet overtures of friendship, with a bit of harmless flirting (it _was_ flirting, right?) on the side. And, with the burden of being solely responsible for maintenance removed from his shoulders, Yugi had time to think about things besides managing the business. Unfortunately for Yugi, all he wanted to think about now was Yami.

As usual, Yugi was the first one there. He unlocked the game shop and spent a few minutes puttering around, getting things in order for the day. All-too-soon, though, his thoughts drifted back to the new handyman. He still couldn't believe someone like Yami was a handyman. He should be gracing magazine covers with that handsome face and lithe body, not crawling around under sinks at Shear Genius. It was a puzzle, a riddle begging to be unraveled, and Yugi never could resist a puzzle. He turned the mystery over in his mind. Maybe Yami was in hiding and this was all a part of his cover...?

Yugi was in his customary starting-the-workday position - flopped half-over the sales counter, doing his best impression of a wet noodle (Yugi was a confirmed anti-morning person) - and daydreaming about desert princes in disguise, when he heard the newly-familiar tattoo of booted steps crossing the tile floor. Yugi's head came up as Yami sauntered toward him, accompanied by the enticing aroma of-

"Coffee!" Yugi crooned, taking the insulated cup Yami handed him and inhaling deeply to pull the wonderful fragrance into his nose. "Oh, god. I think I love you."

Yami looked startled for a moment, then smiled as Yugi practically dove face-first into the cup. "I wasn't sure what flavor you liked, but I guess caffeinated was definitely the way to go."

"_Mmm_." Yugi sucked down half the contents of his cup in one go. Coffee was the nectar of the gods, and Yami was their blessed messenger bringing it to him. The only way this could possibly be any better would be if he had a-

"Pastry?" Yami held up a waxed paper bag bearing the name of Yugi's favorite bakery.

Yugi beamed at him over the chocolate éclairs. Yep. It was definitely love.

-o0o-

Yami blinked at the look of pure adoration shining in Yugi's eyes as he looked at him over the bakery bag before digging out one of the éclairs and shoving half the long pastry into his mouth in a manner that had Yami biting back an involuntary moan. The happy little noises Yugi was making as he devoured his breakfast didn't do Yami's composure any favors, either.

'_I think I love you_.' Though spoken in jest, the words echoed in Yami's mind. Apparently, the way to Yugi's heart was through his stomach. Not that Yami wanted to win Yugi's heart or anything! Far from it. Despite the undeniable attraction Yami felt for him, it would be cruel to toy with Yugi's emotions - assuming Yugi might feel something for him in return, which Yami knew wasn't likely - when he was destined for another.

He had always known it to be so, just as he had grown up knowing that he was the reborn Pharaoh. The ancient scriptures said that Yami's preordained match was the person who solved the Sacred Puzzle and, unlike his previous incarnation, the reborn Pharaoh was expected to keep himself pure for his mysterious future companion. It was, Yami had always thought, just more proof that Fate had it in for him.

Yami wasn't even sure how this whole "predestined consort" thing was supposed to work. Would he just meet the one who solved the Puzzle and fall instantly in love? Did his "destiny" even care if he and his consort _liked_ one another? What if they hated one another at first sight? His priests said it didn't matter, that the important thing was fulfilling the prophecy and restoring balance to the Three Realms. Yami thought that was easy for _them_ to say. They weren't the ones expected to mate with a total stranger.

"...Yami? You okay?"

Drawn back to the present by Yugi's concerned voice, Yami realized his hands were clenched tightly enough to dig his short nails into his palms. He forced his fingers to relax. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You looked a little, uh, _tense_."

"I'm _fine_." Yami reached for his coffee, bumped the counter, and cursed when it wobbled enough to knock over his cup. Yugi grabbed the cup, righting it, while Yami glared at the counter. "I'll get my tools and fix this blasted-" He took a deep breath and collected himself. "I'll fix the counter, first thing."

"O-okay. If you want."

Without another word, Yami stalked toward the storage room in the back to retrieve his toolbox. He needed something to take his mind off his unwanted "soul mate."

It didn't take Yami long to find the proper tool and tighten the bolts holding the counter to the floor. Pride in his accomplishment - even if he had needed the help of one of the do-it-yourself sites Bakura had bookmarked for him on his new phone - warmed him and drove away the bitter thoughts that had threatened to overwhelm him. With a lighter heart, he smiled at Yugi. "All done, boss. What would you like me to do next?"

"How about, um, restocking the CCG booster packs while I sort out the orders for next month?" After taking a quick look at the stock, Yugi pointed to the back and added, "The boxes of card packs are in the storeroom. We need-" He rattled off several game titles for Yami to retrieve. "After that, could you take a look at the bathroom door? It's sticking again. Last time that happened, one of my friends was stuck in there for an hour and kept threatening to kick down the door. Not that he could. He kept trying, though."

"That explains the footprints on the inside of the door."

Yugi laughed. "Joey is nothing if not persistent. But I'd like to keep the building intact, so it'd be great if you could keep it from happening again by fixing the door."

"Your wish is my command." Still giddy over his earlier carpentry triumph, Yami winked at his boss, and then disappeared into the back room.

-o0o-

"Your wish is my command."

_If_ _only_. Yugi thought and slumped against the repaired counter, which, for once, stayed put. Did Yami have any idea what he did to Yugi with those flirtatious winks and stunning smiles? Yugi groaned softly. He'd never been attracted to anyone the way he was to Yami - and he had no idea what to do about it. Yami seemed to like him. Yugi didn't think he was misinterpreting all those little signals. But, what if he was? What if Yami just liked to flirt and Yugi was a convenient target? It was hard to believe that Yami didn't already have a boyfriend - or a girlfriend. Or an entire _harem_.

Yugi groaned again and raised his head just enough to pound his forehead repeatedly, if gently, against the countertop. _Argh_.

The bell on the front door jangled, stopping him in mid-pound. Raising his head, he watched a blonde bundle of energy bounce toward him and quickly hid his reflexive grimace as he recognized his visitor. If there was a polar opposite to the man who had just sauntered out of the room, she was it. With fluffy blonde pigtails, bright blue eyes behind half-moon glasses, and a sprinkling of freckles across her rosy cheeks, Rebecca Hawkins was the anti-Yami.

The granddaughter of Professor Arthur Hawkins, Rebecca had - to Yugi's mortification - developed a crush on him when she was twelve. For the last four years, he'd been desperately hoping she'd grow out of it. He'd be happy to be friends with her, but Rebecca wasn't one to take no for an answer, and she was determined to make him her boyfriend. His actual agreement to the arrangement seemed optional. She was cute, if a bit overbearing, but not only was she too young for him, she was a _girl_. No amount of wishful thinking on her part was going to overcome those particular obstacles.

Trying to strike a balance between stand-offish and friendly, so as not to hurt her feelings without encouraging her crush, he flashed an uncomfortable smile. "Hi, Rebecca."

"Darling!" Her face lit up, and she practically skipped the last few feet to the counter. "I've missed you. It's been so long!"

Yugi could feel his expression dancing between amused and appalled. No matter how many times he corrected her, she never stopped the inappropriate endearments. He had finally decided it was easier to ignore them. He propped his chin on his fist and shook his head at her antics. "You were in here last week. That's not that long. How's your grandfather?"

"He's fine." Her tone was dismissive. She reached over the counter and tried to grab his hand. With a deftness borne of long practice, Yugi evaded her grip. "And a week is _much_ too long to be separated from my darling Yugi."

Uh-oh. She was laying it on even thicker than usual. "What do you want, Rebecca?"

"Oh, Grandpa wanted me to stop by and make sure you got his email. Something about needing to keep that artifact you loaned him a little longer so he could show it to some hot-shot Egyptologist. She's coming into town for the new exhibition at Domino Museum in a few days."

"Uh-huh." Yugi barely heard the words. All of his concentration was focused on his suspicions about the nature of this visit. "And?"

"_Aaand_..." She drew out the syllable and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I wanted to ask you to go with me to the reception at the museum. You know, for the opening of the new Egyptian exhibit?"

Yugi was certain he was sporting a deer-in-headlights expression, as he cast about for some reason to decline the invitation. "Oh, um, I-"

"C'mon, sweetheart, it'll be great! And you know you want to go - you love that stuff as much as Grandpa does."

He did love "that stuff" - an affinity he had inherited from his own grandfather - but that didn't mean he wanted to go on a date with a sixteen-year-old. "Well, you see, Rebecca, I-"

"He already promised to take _me_."

Yugi whipped his head around to stare at Yami, who had returned so quietly that - until he had spoken - Yugi hadn't known he was there. He gaped at Yami, who winked at him.

"Right, Yugi? You did say you would take me to see the exhibit..." Yami's voice trailed off on a note that suggested Yugi take the hint - and the out that Yami was offering.

Yugi grabbed the suggestion like a lifeline and ran with it. "Right! Yeah, uh, sorry, Rebecca, but I already told Yami I'd take him, 'cause he's new in town and doesn't really know anybody yet, and I-" Yugi stopped his nervous babble, adding a shrug and an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Rebecca pouted. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you there." She cut her eyes at Yami. "_Both_ of you." The unspoken _dammit_ hung in the air for a second before her expression cleared and she turned her gaze back to the object of her affections. "What should I tell Grandpa about the artifact thing?"

"I don't mind a brief extension." Yugi hoped the professor didn't need the game for longer than that. For some reason, after a hiatus of almost two years, he found himself anxious to get back to trying to figure the thing out. It felt as if something were poking at the back of his brain, urging him to fit all the pieces together to form... what? He didn't know, and that confused him as much as anything. He shook himself, forcing his attention back to Rebecca. "Tell your grandfather that I'll call him later to work out the details."

"Okay. Well, I guess I should go..." She let the words trail off, obviously hoping he would ask her to stay. When he didn't, she scrunched up her nose, shot another heated glare at Yami, then spun on her heel and flounced toward the exit. Her parting, "See you later, darling!" floated back to them through the closing door.

Yugi flopped onto the counter, relief robbing him of his bones.

"_'Darling'_?"

Rolling his head to one side, Yugi peered up at the handyman, who arched an eyebrow at him in a supercilious expression that made Yugi want to simultaneously hit him and lick him.

Yami's lips twitched. "Do Vivian and the girls know you're cheating on them?"

"Oh, shut up." Pushing himself upright, Yugi tried raising his own eyebrow at Yami, but he had a feeling the effect was totally different from the one Yami achieved without even trying. "Besides, you've obviously replaced me in Viv's heart. I've got a to-do list as long as my arm just of the stuff she's wanting you to 'fix' at the salon."

Yugi knew for a fact that the beauty salon was in better repair than her list suggested. He suspected she just wanted to ogle Yami while he worked. Not, Yugi thought as he let his own gaze slide over the handsome handyman, that he blamed her. Yami was very ogle-able, even with that vaguely horrified look in his eyes.

"Er, exactly how many things does she want me to fix?" Yami wore a look that said he would rather walk barefoot over live coals than venture back into Vivian's lair.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to dump them on you all at once." Yugi had already mentally crossed-off the more ridiculous requests on the list. "And, for today, I think you're going to be too busy around here to get to any of the stuff over at Shear Genius."

"You're a good man, Yugi." Yami's deep voice held such a note of sincerity that it sent a flush of warmth through Yugi's chest and made his face catch fire.

Yugi became suddenly fascinated by the wood grain on the countertop. "Um. Okay." He peeked up through his bangs. "Well, we'd better get these racks restocked, so-"

"Right." With a smile that lit up the room like a surprise ray of sun on a cloudy day, Yami set his armful of card boxes on the counter and set to work restocking the display.

For some reason, that was when it hit Yugi. He had a _date_. With _Yami_. Metaphorical blue birds began to sing in Yugi's heart. After awhile, he found himself humming along.

-o0o-

With the help of his handy website, Yami learned that humidity, which caused the wood to swell, was probably the cause of the sticking door. A tutorial taught him how to plane the bottom of the door so it would no longer stick and he quickly set to work, enjoying the feel of the tools in his hands and the accomplishment that came from doing the work on his own. After that, he handled each task that Yugi set him, his confidence growing with each completed job.

_Ha_! Yami thought, taking out his phone and texting a triumphant message to Bakura. _**Fixed counter. Fixed DOOR. And you thought I couldn't do this job!**_

_**thought u couldn't do ANY job**_, came the swift reply, followed by an emoticon with its tongue sticking out. Immediately on the heels of that text came a new one. _**congrats, Pharaoh (AUS)**_.

Smiling to himself, Yami tucked the phone back into his pocket. He barely resisted the urge to whistle as he went back to work.

-o0o-

The rest of the morning passed without major incident. Yami was introduced to another of the center's tenants when he was sent over to a pair of conjoined mini-shops on the other side of the Kame No. 2.

Finny Friends/Fish'n'Chips (motto: "_Fish are friends_ _AND_ _food!_") was the joint venture of Mako Tsunami and his father, a pair of eccentric ex-commercial-fishermen who apparently couldn't decide whether to sell aquarium fish or fried fillets. So, they compromised and sold both. Yami spent an instructive half-hour with a plumbing website, then - after a few false-starts that earned him a wet shirt and a new respect for water pressure - returned to the game shop able to report that he had repaired the water line problem at F3nC (as Yugi called the dual shop).

Yugi simply stared at his chest for a long moment before gulping and nodding. "Uh, that's... good?"

"Is something wrong?" Frowning, Yami glanced down at himself. His soaked shirt was clinging to him in a distressing manner, revealing the shape of his chest and abdomen. Well-trained in archery, swordsmanship, and more modern means of physical combat, he knew he was fit, if not necessarily attractive to most people. (Though, he was glad none of those strange women at the Den of Hair-Defilers had spotted him on his way back inside. They had some odd ideas that he had _no_ desire to investigate.) "Sorry about my shirt. The water got away from me a time or two."

"..._Guh_."

Brow furrowing, Yami leaned closer across the counter separating them. "Are you okay?"

"_Perfect_..."

"What?" Confused, Yami drew back again. What was he talking about?

Yugi seemed to shake himself and come out of whatever trance he had fallen into. He wiped a hand over his mouth, closed his eyes for a second, then pointed to the back room. "T-shirt!"

"_What_?"

"I mean, there are- You should-" Yugi clapped a hand over his eyes and swallowed so hard that Yami heard it. "There are some t-shirts. In the back. Leftovers from a game tournament last year. You can change into one of them. _Please_."

"Oh." Well, _of course_ Yugi wouldn't want to look at him with his clothes clinging to him like a second skin! Mortified, Yami hurried toward the back. "Thank you, Yugi. I'll be right back."

"Take your time!" Yugi called after him, his voice sounding oddly choked.

His buoyant mood sagging along with his shoulders, Yami went to change.

-o0o-

Yugi looked up as the bell on the front door jingled. He hoped it was announcing Yami's return from Mako's shop. As silly as it sounded, Yugi had missed the handyman, even though he had been gone for less than an hour. Yami was smiling and relating the success of his repair mission, but it was all a pleasant buzz to Yugi, who couldn't tear his gaze away from the jaw-dropping sight of Yami's wet torso.

And what a torso it was, on clear display thanks to the water which had soaked through the thin material of his shirt. The shirt - and Yugi silently blessed whoever had designed it - clung to every hard plane and well-defined dip of a chest and abs that more than hinted at a man who spent a lot of time in athletic pursuits. Yugi could feel the drool collecting in his mouth.

Belatedly, he realized that Yami had stopped speaking. Taking a wild stab at an appropriate conversational gambit, Yugi swallowed excessive saliva and offered, "Uh, that's... good?"

"Is something wrong?"

Yami was frowning at him. _Oh, shit_. He'd noticed Yugi practically undressing him with his eyes. Well, how could he _not_ have noticed? Yugi hadn't exactly been subtle about it. He fought the urge to bury his face in his hands, especially when Yami added an apology.

"Sorry about my shirt. The water got away from me a time or two."

Yugi opened his mouth to tell Yami he had nothing to be sorry for. (Good grief, did the man not know people - Yugi included, if only he were rich enough - would _pay_ him to wander around in nothing but a wet shirt?) Unfortunately, what came out was, "..._Guh_."

_Oh, god, just kill me now!_ Yugi thought, and fought to keep his eyes from drifting back to their obsessive focus on the other's sculpted chest. It was a lost cause, however, because that body was simply... "_Perfect_."

He sighed the word, then nearly bit through his tongue in shock when he heard Yami say "what?" and realized he'd spoken aloud. _Fuck_. Yugi scrubbed at his mouth as if he could erase his stupid mistake, then blurted, "T-shirt!"

The word summoned visions of wet t-shirt contests - with a single contestant whose name happened to rhyme with "yummy". Resigned to the fact that he was a moron, Yugi snapped his traitorous eyes - which were wandering far too low on Yami's body - shut and pointed a desperate hand at the rear of the store.

A confused-sounding "_What_?" was the only response. At least Yami hadn't quit and stormed out of the shop. Yet. He risked a peek at the handyman, but saw only puzzlement on his handsome face. The anger would probably come later. Hoping to stave it off for as long as possible, Yugi tried for damage control.

"I mean, there are- You should-" He clapped a hand over his eyes and forced his constricted throat to work. "There are some t-shirts. In the back. Leftovers from a game tournament last year. You can change into one of them. _Please_."

_Please, before I make a_ complete _fool of myself. "Partial fool" is bad enough!_

"Oh." Yami glanced down at his wet clothing, then hurried toward the back, no doubt grateful for the excuse to get away from Yugi's ogling. "Thank you, Yugi. I'll be right back."

"Take your time!" Yugi could barely force his voice past the self-recrimination clogging his chest. Freed of the distraction of the other man's presence, Yugi's mind raced. He had to think of something quick, before he lost any chance he might have had with Yami.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Yami returned to the main area of the game shop, he was surprised to see Yugi flipping the sign on the door from _open_ to _closed for lunch_. The day before, they had simply brought food in and eaten behind the counter.

Reacting to Yami's curious look, Yugi said, "I, uh, thought I'd treat you to lunch. If that's okay with you?"

"I guess so." Yami couldn't quite reconcile Yugi's hopeful expression with their previous exchange. He glanced down at himself, running a self-conscious hand over his borrowed t-shirt. It was a bit tight, but it was the largest size he could find. "Is this all right? I wasn't sure-"

"Yeah, it's-" Yugi swallowed, his gaze roving over Yami's chest, and then licked his lips. "It's fine." He managed a forced-looking smile. "Looks good on you."

Yeah, _sure_. Yami resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yugi was a terrible liar. Deciding not to dwell on the uncomfortable subject, Yami moved toward the door. "So... Lunch?"

Yugi nodded and turned to open the door. "Do you like hamburgers?"

Yami had never actually had a hamburger, but he remembered Yugi mentioning in passing that they were his favorite food, so he nodded. "Sure."

They wound up at Burger World, fortuitously located just across the street. After getting their hamburgers, fries, and sodas, the two of them found a booth near the window. From his vantage point, Yami could see Bakura lurking at one of the umbrella-shaded picnic tables outside. Even with his chief bodyguard so near, Yami had no doubt Bakura had stationed more of the royal guard nearby. Yugi's voice drew Yami's attention back to his boss.

"Um, about earlier... I'm really sorry."

Yami turned his gaze on his companion in time to catch the shame which flickered over Yugi's expressive features. Yami's own brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For, um, staring at you like that." Apparently absorbed in dousing his fries with enough ketchup to make his plate resemble a fried potato massacre, Yugi only darted fleeting glances at him through his tangle of soft blond bangs. "It was really rude of me."

Uncomfortable with this line of conversation, Yami shrugged. People stared at him. In some ways, he found that easier to deal with than those who refused to look directly at him. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

"Yeah, I guess you would be." For some reason, this seemed to bother Yugi, who jabbed a fry into the puddle of tomato sauce and frowned at the results, before snapping the end off the fry with his teeth. "That's no excuse for my behavior, though. I'll, um, try to do better from now on."

"Don't worry about it."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Yugi persisted. He appeared genuinely concerned about it. "You're not gonna, uh, look for another job now or anything... Right?"

Yami blinked at him in astonishment. Was that what had Yugi was so upset? "No, of course not. I know how I look, Yugi." It was a lesson he had learned quite well in childhood, and had never forgotten. He was _strange_. He didn't like it, but he had accepted the truth of it. "I don't blame you for staring."

"Oh. Well..."

"Really, it was my fault, anyway. Getting all wet..." It was Yami's turn to be unable to meet his companion's eyes. "I'm just sorry you had to see me like that."

There was a long silence, then, "Um... What?"

Desperate to get it all over with as quickly as possible, Yami rushed on. "And, of course, I won't hold you to our 'date' for the museum reception. I'm sure you have other plans."

"Huh? No, I don't."

Surprise jerked Yami's head around to stare at Yugi for a second before he dropped his gaze to his hands, clenched on the table. His blunt nails dug into his palms. "You probably have a boyfr- I mean, _friends,_ other companions - to spend time with, so why would you want to-? I mean, I know I'm not-" He shook his head, frustrated with his inability to get the words out.

The words seemed to hang in the stillness between them. Yami gathered his courage and forced himself to risk a peek at the other man's face. Yugi was staring at him, one hand frozen in mid-air between plate and mouth, a french fry dangling limply from his fingers.

"_What_?" It came out sounding more defensive than Yami had intended.

"Are you trying to get out of going to the reception with me?"

"What? No!"

"It sure sounds like it." Yugi dropped the fry and folded his arms over his chest. His lower lip protruded a bit, drawing Yami's unwilling attention before he wrenched his traitorous gaze back up to meet Yugi's. "Would you rather go with someone else? Maybe _Vivian_? I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to go out with you."

At the mention of the chief Hair-Defiler, Yami flinched. He couldn't help it. Those women were nothing like the ones he had grown up surrounded by, and he had no idea how to take most of the things they said to him, especially Vivian. Truth be told, they scared him a little and confused him a lot. "Uh, no. She's really not... my type."

"Oh." Yugi gave his burger a desultory poke. "Well, I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble finding a date who _is_."

Date? Did Yugi consider their arrangement a real date? The idea held a forbidden appeal. Yami's stomach fluttered as if it were host to an entire flock of butterflies.

"Things are _different_ where I come from. Especially in my... social circle." Yami winced at the necessary obfuscation. "I've never been on a ...date."

"_You_. _You_ haven't had a-" Yugi's expression did a strange, undecipherable dance before settling on what looked like incredulity. "But, you must get asked out all the time!"

Toying with his paper napkin, Yami shook his head.

"_Never_?"

"No." Yami squared his shoulders and met Yugi's gaze head on. "I would be honored if you would accompany me on my first."

"I- Wow. Yami, I- Just, wow." After a moment during which Yami was certain his heart would either stop beating or would hammer its way straight out of his chest, Yugi beamed at him. "I'd love to be your first date."

The sudden release of nervous tension almost made Yami gasp. He felt his lips curve into a wide smile to match Yugi's own. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

-o0o-

Lunch had gone much better than Yugi could have hoped. Not only had Yami not quit his job, but he and Yugi were still on for their date to the museum - which was now an official date and not just a smokescreen to save Yugi from Rebecca's adolescent clutches. The thought brought a smile to Yugi's lips as he leaned on the sales counter and let himself daydream about the upcoming date. He wanted to make certain that Yami's first date (and Yugi was still trying to wrap his brain around the notion that _Yami_ had never been on a date!) the best ever. Maybe, if he had a good time, Yami would even kiss him goodnight at the end...

Hearing the bell on the door chime, Yugi looked up and spotted a familiar head of white-blond hair coming into view. "Oh, hey, Ryou."

"Hallo, Yugi!" came the cheerful reply as Ryou made his way down the center aisle to the sales counter. He was dressed for school in a tailored shirt and casual slacks. His distinctive hair was pulled neatly back in a low ponytail, though his over-long bangs shadowed his eyes, and a canvas backpack hung from one shoulder. "I brought you that textbook you wanted to borrow."

A full-time student rather than a part-timer like Yugi, Ryou was ahead of Yugi in several classes and had generously offered the loan of textbooks and class notes whenever their respective areas of study overlapped.

"Thanks! It'll come in handy for my essay." Yugi smiled.

"So, you _are_ resuming your classes? That's good to hear." Ryou leaned against the counter and did a mild double-take when it failed to shift under his weight. "Oh! I see you've finally gotten it fixed."

"Yeah. Actually, that's kind of related to why I'll be able to go back to school. Just one night class for now, but it'll keep me from falling too far behind."

"Oh?"

"I hired someone to take over the maintenance duties for the shopping center and to help out here in the store."

"Well, that's certainly heartening news. I know how overworked you've been since your grandfather's accident." Ryou laid the book on the counter. "How is Grandfather Solomon?"

"Tired of staying in bed and anxious to get back to work." Yugi laughed as he tucked the book away underneath the counter to take home with him later. "You know how he is. He can't stand not to be in the thick of things."

"We can only hope to be as active at his age."

"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for loaning me the book. You didn't have to make a special trip to bring it, though. I could've come by your apartment-"

"Oh, I don't mind. I wanted to see if those new Monster World figures were in, yet. Besides…" Ryou trailed off into a sheepish look. "I, um, have a favor to ask."

"Sure. What do you need? You know I'll help if I can."

"Well, you see… My apartment is being fumigated this week, and I was rather hoping you would allow me to make use of that folding camp bed you have in the back room." Ryou blurted out the request in one breath, then ducked his head, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

Yugi's eyes widened. "Don't be silly! You can come stay at my house for as long as you need. Mom and Grandpa won't mind, and you can have my bed. I can sleep on the floor and-"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of imposing on you like that!" Ryou shook his head, causing his over-long bangs to flop into his eyes. He brushed them back with an impatient gesture. "Really, the camp bed will be fine, if you'll permit me to use it. I only need it for a night or two."

"But-"

"Please, Yugi. If it's not too much trouble?"

"Well… I guess it would be okay, if that's what you really want."

"It is. Thank you!" Ryou beamed at him. "I really appreciate this."

"Okay. But if you change your mind about the cot, you're welcome to come to my house. Just give me a call and I'll come get you."

"I'm sure I'll be fine here. I'll come back at closing time, shall I?"

"Sure, that's okay. There's a microwave back there, too, if you want to heat up something to eat." Yugi had set up a makeshift living area behind the new stock, with a folding cot, card table, and microwave. It had been his home away from home while he struggled to juggle work, classes, and the necessities of life. The experiment had been short-lived. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thank you. I'll bring the few things I might need when I return this evening. I just-" Ryou broke off abruptly, his brown eyes widening as he stared at something over Yugi's shoulder. He breathed out a soft, "Wow."

"Huh?" Twisting around on his seat, Yugi immediately spotted the cause of his friend's sudden distraction. "Oh. Yeah. That's Yami."

Ryou's eyebrows shot up under his bangs, but his gaze remained locked on the man striding out of the back room. "I don't suppose _he's_ part of the accommodations?"

"Ryou!" Yugi hissed, feeling his face heat up with yet another blasted flush. He stared at his friend in shock. Since when had Ryou become so… forward?

"Oh, dear. Did I say that aloud?" Ryou's red face matched Yugi's, but his eyes hadn't stopped tracking Yami's progress across the room with an armload of computer game guides for the display rack. They stayed glued to him as he bent to place the stack on the floor. His back was to the two at the counter, giving them a perfect view of the way his jeans molded to his body as he moved. "Oh, _my_."

"He's _my_ new handyman," Yugi snapped. And had he just placed an undue emphasis on the word 'my' in that sentence? He decided denial was his new best friend and ignored his own question in favor of ogling Yami's ass…ets. Ass_ets_. Yeah, that was it. _Assets_.

Ryou assayed a rather dreamy-sounding sigh. "I'll wager he's _quite_ 'handy'."

"_Ryou_!"

"Sorry, I really don't know what's gotten into me."

_I know what you'd _like_ to get into you. _Yugi frowned at the sour thought, more irritated at his own irrational jealousy than at his friend's outrageous behavior. Then he looked more closely at Ryou and accused, "You're _drooling_."

"I am not!"

"You are!" Yugi valiantly resisted the urge to reach over the counter and smack Ryou. Yami was _his_ eye-candy, dammit. Let Ryou find his own gorgeous handyman to drool over. "Stop it before he sees-"

Yami straightened to look at them over his shoulder. The movement caused the material of his shirt to strain against his back and shoulders, outlining the lean muscles there. Yugi promptly forgot what he had intended to say. He nearly forgot to _breathe_. Ryou casually wiped the back of one hand across his mouth.

"Hello."

Yami's deep voice sent a shiver down Yugi's spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it have a similar effect on Ryou, who flushed brighter red.

"I don't believe we've met." Yami glided over to the counter and extended his hand to Ryou. "I'm Yami Green."

"R-ryou. Uh, ahem, Ryou Bakura." As if dazed by the smile Yami directed his way, Ryou gave Yami his hand, though he made no effort to shake it - or take it back. "It's a _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance, Mr. Green."

"The pleasure is mine. And, please, call me Yami."

For one horrible moment, Yugi was sure Yami was going to kiss the back of Ryou's hand, but he simply held it and gazed deep into Ryou's eyes as if trying to read his very soul. Ryou looked as if he might faint. Yugi ground his teeth and successfully fought the urge to growl.

"Yami-" Yugi began, only to break off in irritation when there was no response. "Yami?"

Still no response, not even a flinch. The growl was getting harder to contain by the millisecond.

"_Yami_!" Yugi yelled as he leaned over and waved a hand between the two of them, hoping to break up whatever trance they had apparently fallen into. When Yami blinked at him - and finally released Ryou's hand - Yugi took a calming breath and added, "Ryou's going to be staying here for a few nights."

"In the store?" Yami sounded surprised.

"There's a cot in the back, behind all the boxes and stuff."

"You won't even know I'm here, I promise," Ryou said, inadvertently garnering Yami's full attention again. He ducked his head and peered up through his lashes. "I'll do my best not to be in the way."

Yami's expression softened. "Of course you won't be in the way. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

Yugi managed to turn the escaping growl into a strangled cough.

"Are you all right, Yugi?" Ryou dragged his gaze away from Yami long enough to send his friend a concerned look. "That's a nasty cough. You're not coming down with a cold, are you?"

"I'm fine!" Yugi choked out, then shot a dirty look at Yami. "If you're finished with the magazines, I need you to go over to Viv's. She's got a bad outlet that needs replaced."

It really should have bothered Yugi more how much satisfaction he got from watching the blood drain from Yami's face. The man had developed a genuine aversion to venturing into Vivian's territory.

Yami shifted, all the suave charm of a moment ago banished at the prospect of confronting his nemesis. "What about the-?"

Yugi didn't even give him time to finish the question. "You can get to that later. Viv's outlet takes priority." _As of about two minutes ago, Mr. McFlirtypants. We'll see how amorous you're feeling once good ol' Viv and the girls are through with you!_

Defeated, Yami sighed. "As you wish."

They watched him as he retrieved his toolbox and strode out the door. Ryou sagged against the counter. "I can't believe I said all those things! What if he heard me?" He buried his face in his hands. "I feel like such a fool."

Yugi struggled with himself for a moment. He wasn't sure whether he had won or lost when he sighed and said, "I think he likes you."

One brown eye peeked at him from between Ryou's fingers. "You really think so?"

"Yeah." Yugi heaved another sigh. _Damn it_. He'd known Yami's apparent interest in him was too good to be true. "Well, why wouldn't he like you? You're a likable guy."

"Maybe. But, he's-"

Yugi's mind filled in the blanks: intelligent, charming, sexy, drop-dead gorgeous, thoughtful, kind-

"-out of my league, I'm afraid," Ryou concluded, with a shake of his head.

"Don't say that!" Yugi banished the little voice that tried to point out he'd thought the same thing about his own chances. He didn't want to give it the opportunity to say 'I told you so.' "You've got a lot to offer, you know. You're smart and funny. Any guy'd be lucky to have you for a boyfriend."

Ryou blushed. "It's kind of you to say so, but… I don't think he's really interested in me. At least, not _that_ way."

Despite his best efforts otherwise, Yugi found himself hoping that Ryou was right.

-o0o-

At the salon, Yami bent over the malfunctioning wall outlet, his mind racing so much that he barely noticed the looks burning into his back - or his backside. Shielding his actions with his body, he opened the phone he had concealed inside his toolbox and quickly typed "do-it-yourself electrical repair" into the search engine. His hand shook just slightly as he used the touch-screen. One realization dominated his thoughts.

A Sacred Item_._

_Yugi's friend had a Sacred Item_. Its power surrounded him. The encounter had been too brief for Yami to sense which Item Yugi's friend owned, but nothing could hide the fact that the young man (Ryou?) possessed one. Perhaps he even carried it with him! The lingering sense of the Item's power had nearly overwhelmed Yami when he touched the other man's hand, blocking out everything else. If pressed, Yami wouldn't have been able to offer a description of Yugi's friend's physical appearance, but his magical aura was burned into Yami's memory.

If only he dared to be more aggressive, to actively test rather than passively sense… . But he didn't dare; he had to be careful how he exercised his ability. There were others after the Sacred Items, and they would be only too happy to capture him, as well. Still, his curiosity ate at him. Which Item could it be? There were seven in all, each one a piece of the original Pharaoh Atem's magic: Ring, Eye, Scepter, Key, Scales, Necklace, and Puzzle.

Yami froze as a new idea struck him with all the subtlety of a half-brick in a dark alley.

What if _Yugi's friend_ owned the Puzzle?

He turned this radical new idea over in his mind. Could the Chosen One be _male_? Such a thing had never occurred to him before, although he supposed it should have. He had simply followed along with his family's assumptions that his future consort would be female. But what if those assumptions were wrong? After all, it was their physical union, not any potential product of that union, that was important. Their joining would unite them - and allow him to reclaim the power locked within the Sacred Items. For that purpose, either gender would serve. He felt his world tilt on its axis as the implications sank in.

What if his Chosen One …_was a man_?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The rest of the afternoon saw Yami kept busy with various "emergencies" at Vivian's salon: everything from a flooded bathroom (which required him to wield a mop), a non-functioning stand-dryer (which required him to plug it back into the wall outlet), and a couple of blown light bulbs (which required him to be on constant guard, as Viv tried to pinch his derrière every time he went up the ladder. Seriously, what was _wrong_ with that woman?). So, it was with great relief that he glanced at the clock and saw that quitting time was upon them. Until tomorrow, at least, he would have to make no more forays into the Den of Hair (and Derriere) Defilers. On the bright side, he had been too preoccupied to dwell on his realization about the possible gender of his Chosen. He would need privacy and all his faculties to decide how he felt about that.

"Um, Yami?" Yugi's voice pulled Yami from his musings. "Could I ask you a favor?"

"Of course."

"Well, you see... My mom wanted me to ask if you'd be willing to take a look at the air conditioner at our house, since you did such a great job with the one at the shop and all. We'd pay you overtime, of course."

"Sure, I'll take a look at it if you want me to." Yami scuffed the toe of his boot against the floor, unhappy about taking credit for work he hadn't actually done. Of course, it wasn't as if he could tell the truth about who had actually repaired the unit. "But you don't have to pay me. I would be happy to do you a favor."

"Oh, no. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering." A gesture waved away Yugi's objection. "We're friends, aren't we? Friends do things for one another. When would you like me to come by?"

"Um, would this evening be okay? Grandpa gets pretty uncomfortable when the air conditioner cuts out, and at his age…"

"All right." Yami couldn't hide his pleasure that Yugi had not denied the charge of being his friend.

Yugi's entire face lit up with his answering grin. "Thanks, I really appreciate this. If you want, you can walk home with me." Then he flushed and backpedaled. "Only if you want to, of course! I mean, it's just that you probably don't know the city very well yet, and I could show you the way, but if you'd rather not-"

"_Yugi_." Yami's warm tone was meant to soothe the burgeoning panic, as was the hand he rested for a fleeting second atop Yugi's. "I _would_ like to walk with you, if that's all right."

Judging by the amount of attention he gave it, the wooden countertop had taken on a sudden fascination. That didn't stop Yami from noticing the tiny smile attempting to break free of the corners of Yugi's mouth as he stammered out, "Oh. Um. Okay."

"Good."

Yami found himself looking forward to walking home with Yugi. Even if it meant he did have to "repair" another air conditioner at the end of the walk, it would be fun to spend some more time together away from the game shop, time with his _friend_. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to do so without giving Bakura a heart attack.

-o0o-

Since it was summer, it was still light out as they left the store. The evening was warm, with a mild breeze that brought with it the faint scent of the bay. The two of them set out at any easy pace, walking side by side. Yami was relieved, after a surreptitious check of their surroundings, to find no visible sign of the Medjai escort he knew to be following them.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Yugi began pointing out the sights offered by Domino City, including the towering skyscraper that dominated the skyline. "That's Kaiba Corp Tower, the headquarters of the Kaiba Corporation."

Yami tipped his head back and gazed up at the lofty office building. The architectural design was like nothing he had ever seen, though his experience of such things was admittedly limited. There was certainly nothing like it in his home village. He thought the tower looked a bit like a javelin thrust into the heart of the city. "It's, uh, impressive."

"And ugly. Yeah, everybody says that." Yugi shook his head. "Even Seto - uh, that's the CEO of the company, Seto Kaiba - even he hates the way it looks, and it's his building."

"How do you know the CEO of a big company like Kaiba Corporation?" Yami wondered.

"Oh, we went to school together… for about a month. Guess he got tired of doing the 'normal teenager' thing and quit. Well, when you already have your own multi-billion dollar company, who needs a high school diploma, right? I heard he took the equivalency exam or something."

Technically, Yami didn't have a high school education either. Of course, his entire education had been far from traditional. Private tutors had taught him all his life, in mundane matters like history and language and mathematics, as well as more arcane skills like ancient rituals, magic spells, and martial arts. He had studied the lives of his ancestors, the ancient pharaohs, learning how to follow in their footsteps and be a leader for his people. He had learned the history of the pact between his people and the denizens of the Dark Realm, learned - to the consternation of his tutors and the ire of his father - how to summon certain of those creatures into the Light Realm, the _human_ realm, at will. And, of course, he had been taught the prophecies that surrounded one particular pharaoh, the king everyone said had been reborn in him.

"Yami?"

With some effort, Yami pulled his attention back to the present. "Yes?"

"We're here."

Yami was surprised to find himself standing in front of another game shop with a familiar turtle sign beside the door.

"This is our original game shop. My mom's running it for now, until Grandpa is back on his feet. We live upstairs." Yugi bypassed the shop entrance, leading the way to another, recessed doorway off to the side. "Come on. I'll show you where the air conditioner is."

They climbed a short flight of stairs to the family living quarters above the shop, leaving their shoes on the landing. Almost immediately, a female voice called out from another room. "Yugi? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Mom! I brought Yami with me to look at the air conditioner."

A middle-aged, red-haired woman stuck her head around the doorframe. When her gaze fell on Yami, her eyes widened. "_You're_ the handyman?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Yami Green." He gave her a polite smile and prayed she was nothing like every other woman he had encountered in this country (in other words, _insane_).

She popped completely into the entryway and used the dishtowel in her hand to shoo them deeper into the house. "Take him up to the attic and show him where the air conditioner is located. It's sweltering in here. Quickly, Yu-chan!"

"Okay, okay!" Yugi cringed, making a face at the nickname. "Jeez, Mom, it's not like he's going to change his mind and take off without looking at the AC."

"Go! Now!"

Yugi grabbed Yami's hand and fled up a second, longer flight of stairs. Once out of towel range, he offered an apologetic grin. "You'll have to excuse my mom. She's been under a lot of stress."

"Understandable, I'm sure." Yami gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Let's not make it any worse. If you'll show me where the air conditioning unit is, I'll get straight to work."

"Okay." Yugi beamed and tugged Yami toward the pull-down ladder at the end of the hallway. "C'mon, the attic's this way."

-o0o-

Still cringing from his mother's use of the hated girly diminutive, (fortunately, he was pretty sure that Yami had no idea the honorific was more appropriate for a little girl than a twenty-something young man), Yugi led the handyman upstairs.

Ever since Yugi had locked up the game shop and set off toward home with Yami at his side, he had been hyperaware of the other man. First, it was the heat of Yami's body when their bare arms brushed as they walked side-by-side down the street, then the clean scent of his cologne and the quiet rustle of his clothing as those long limbs moved with a grace that made Yugi feel like a klutz. That awareness had persisted as they crossed the city, made stronger by the silence stretching between them.

_Say something!_ Yugi had scolded himself as they walked, shooting sidelong glances at his taller companion. _He's going to think there's something wrong if you keep giving him the silent treatment_.

But Yugi hadn't been able to think of anything that didn't sound completely inane, even in the confines of his own head. '_Boy, it sure is hot!_' (Yami was from Egypt. No doubt he felt at home in the summer heat.) '_So, how was your day_?' (You were _there_, you moron, don't you remember?) '_You're the most incredible person I've ever met, marry me_!' (No… and enjoy your new restraining order.)

In desperation, he'd resorted to babbling about the scenery, pointing out the Spider Arcade, site of many a misspent hour during his high school years, and the ugly hulk of the Kaiba Corporation Tower. (Not for the first time, Yugi wondered if someone in the Kaiba family was over-compensating for a perceived personal inadequacy.)

Now, still flushed over his mother's embarrassing behavior, Yugi escaped with Yami to the relative (and relative-free) safety of the attic. No amount of complaining seemed to convince his mother not to use that childish diminutive, so Yugi had largely resigned himself to living with it. He was just glad that Yami hadn't seemed to notice, or at least hadn't commented on it. Not that Yugi would really expect him to. Yami was a kind and gentle man, traits that never failed to warm Yugi when Yami focused them on him. (Of course, he was also a charming and incorrigible flirt, a trait that Yugi quite enjoyed as long as he wasn't watching Yami utilize that charm on someone else. cough_Ryou_cough)

While Yami stared at the broken air conditioner as if intending to mend it with the power of his mind, Yugi went in search of the elusive Mutou family toolbox. It took a few minutes, but he eventually tracked it to its lair: the hall closet, where it was cleverly denned up under a stack of out-of-season electric blankets and one of his old Halloween costumes. After a brief battle involving tangled electrical cords and a long blond wig that seemed to think it was a hairy octopus, he emerged, winded but triumphant. Tossing the fake arrow he had used to beat back the wig at the nearest shelf, he slammed the closet door and stood panting for a moment until he regained his breath. He lugged the toolbox to the attic ladder, dragged it and himself through the access hatch, looked up - and nearly swallowed his own tongue at the sight which greeted him.

_Sweet mother of Chippendales_! Yugi barely kept the exclamation a silent one. _I must have done something wonderful in a past life, because I've reached nirvana in this one_.

While Yugi was gone, Yami had taken off his shirt to expose a tanned chest glistening with tantalizing beads of moisture that made Yugi want to lick him like a lollipop. Yami was using the shirt to wipe away the sweat from his brow and Yugi thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight. Shirtless Yami was even better than wet t-shirt Yami.

Yugi forced himself to close his mouth and swallow before he drowned in his own drool. _Guh_.

"Yugi? Oh, is that the toolbox? Thanks." With one of those dazzling smiles that made Yugi lose most of his higher brain functions, Yami reached for the toolbox.

The scent of him - spice and masculine sweat - wafted over Yugi, who felt his brain melt and threaten to ooze out of his ears. He hoped he wouldn't be called on to perform any intellectual operation more complex than "Yami gooood, shirt baaaad." Anything more complicated than that was beyond his capabilities at the moment.

"Say, Yugi, could I trouble you for a glass of water? Your mother was right, it really is hot in here." Yami wiped his brow again, unconsciously flexing naked pecs and biceps and other muscles that Yugi didn't have names for but that he suddenly _needed_ to become intimately acquainted with.

"_Nngh_… O-okay." Turning, Yugi fled from the attic before he could do something utterly embarrassing, like shoving his tongue down Yami's throat - or in his bellybutton.

Yami's cute, _naked_ little bellybutton.

Pausing at the top of the drop-down stairs, Yugi risked a quick peek back over his shoulder. Yami was an inny.

_Guh_.

-o0o-

After Yugi's abrupt departure, Yami wasted no time in calling for help. Clutching the appropriate token, he hastily summoned the Dark Magician Mahaad. The tall, armor-clad figure appeared in the dramatic swirl of purple-and-black magic. Floating a few feet above the floor, he folded his arms, and settled a stern gaze on Yami.

"_Atem_." There was a wealth of reproach in that single word. Mahaad drifted lower until his feet touched the floor, then crossed to stand before the younger man. "If you insist on calling me without the proper rituals, at least give your depleted energies sufficient time to recover between summonings. Otherwise, you will injure yourself."

Yami could feel his face burning with more than the stifling heat of the room. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. But I need your help."

"Again?" Mahaad's eyebrows rose. "What is it this time?"

Yami gestured at the air conditioner, a near twin of the unit at the shopping center, and gave the spellcaster a hopeful look.

"_Another_ one?" Mahaad's expression flickered between astonished and apalled.

"Sorry."

A significant pause, as the spellcaster studied him with narrowed eyes, then, "…Have you struck your head recently?"

"What? No!"

"Because I do not know how to otherwise explain this sudden obsession with strange machinery. Not to mention the fact that you seem to be under the impression that I'm some sort of artificer, rather than the Magician you have always known me to be."

Shooting a nervous glance toward the open access hatch, Yami made frantic _shushing_ motions. "Keep your voice down! We can't let anyone know you're here. Just do this for me and I'll explain everything later. I promise."

The spellcaster tapped one long index finger against his chin as he appeared to consider the request. "I don't know if I should…"

"_Mahaad!_" This was no time for the magician to be difficult. He had already proven he could repair the damned things, and, despite his protests to the contrary, Yami knew Mahaad liked to tinker in his spare time. "Will you please just fix the machine?"

Mahaad sighed. "Very well. But-" He pointed an admonishing finger at Yami. "-I want your word that you will not summon me, or any of the others, until you have had sufficient recovery time. I will not have you hurting yourself over something so foolish."

"You have my word," Yami said, and then spoiled the solemnity of the moment by darting a panicked look at the hatchway. He could hear sneakered footsteps coming up the stairs. "It's Yugi. Hurry! He can't find you here, I'd never be able to explain-"

With a roll of his eyes, Mahaad made a negligent gesture with his staff in the general direction of the air conditioner. One explosion of purple sparkles later, the machine began humming and spitting out cool air just as the tips of a familiar head of red-and-gold hair appeared in the opening in the floor. Yami nearly swallowed his tongue. Mahaad smirked at him and vanished in a showy and completely unnecessary swirl of dark magic.

Cool air, relief, and a blinding headache all struck Yami simultaneously and with all the subtlety of a speeding train. His knees buckled beneath their combined force. As he hit the floor, he heard Yugi's frightened voice shout his name.

And then, all was merciful darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! Hope everyone in the storm corridors are staying safe and warm. Since the weather across much of the continental US is miserable at the moment, I decided to post this early. Hope you all enjoy, even those of you lucky enough to be somewhere sunny and warm. ;)

* * *

Chapter 8

Yugi felt his heart plummet straight through the soles of his feet when he saw Yami fall. He dashed forward, tripping over the forgotten toolbox, but was too slow to catch the other man as he collapsed. Panicked, he grabbed Yami's wrist. The pulse he found there was rapid, but strong. Belatedly, he realized that the air conditioner was working now and, without a shirt, Yami might become chilled.

It wasn't easy, as Yami was a good bit taller and heavier than Yugi, but Yugi managed to shift Yami away from the area directly in front of the cooling vent and wrestle him back into his shirt. He was saddened to bid good-bye to all those sculpted muscles, but he couldn't in good conscience let Yami catch a cold just so Yugi could ogle his half-naked bod.

Satisfied that he had settled Yami as comfortably as he could, Yugi retrieved the glass he'd brought and dipped his fingers into the water. He patted his damp fingertips against Yami's cheek. "Yami? Can you hear me? Wake up, okay? Come on, open your eyes for me..."

After several tense moments, Yami stirred. His eyelashes fluttered and, a second later, his eyes drifted open. He blinked languidly at Yugi, looking so much like a man sated with afterglow that Yugi's mouth went dry and most of the blood in his body took an impromptu (and poorly timed) vacation to more southern climes.

"_Mmm_…" Yami's lips curved in a lazy, sinful smile for which Yugi would have given several moderately essential body parts in exchange for the privilege of waking up to at least once in his life. "Yugi?"

Yugi was suddenly glad he hadn't tucked his shirt in that morning. He licked his lips and squeaked, "Yes?"

"Wha-?" Yami stopped to clear his throat. "What happened?"

_Well, when one man _really_ loves another man_- Oh, right. He meant the 'passing out and collapsing to the floor' thing, not the tropical party in full swing below Yugi's equator. (Since meeting Yami, Yugi had developed a new-found appreciation for the fact that humans could not, in fact, read each other's minds. He was pretty sure this evolutionary blessing had saved him more than once from being on the receiving end of a punch in the nose.)

Trying to sound as if he hadn't just been lusting over Yami's unconscious body, Yugi said, "I think the heat made you pass out."

"Oh."

"How do you feel?"

"My head is killing me." With Yugi's help, Yami sat up. He buried his hands in his hair and clutched at his skull as if trying to keep it from flying apart at the seams. "Sorry to be such a bother, but do you have any aspirin?"

"Yeah, sure! I'll be right back." Genuine concern took care of Yugi's 'difficulty', and he scrambled to refill Yami's water glass, grab the aspirin bottle from the medicine cabinet downstairs, and race back to the attic as fast as his - _oh my god, why were they so _short? - legs could carry him.

"Here you go." Panting, Yugi stumbled back into the attic. He held out the water glass and the bottle of Bayer. Yami took them with a murmur of gratitude. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, my head hurts, but I'll be fine." One hand cradling his temple, Yami struggled to his feet. Yugi lurched forward to help and Yami let him. They swayed together until Yami found his balance. "I think maybe I should head home. I think I'd like to lie down and try to convince my brain it's not actually going to explode."

"O-of course." Yugi swallowed his disappointment. He'd hoped to invite Yami to stay for dinner. Since the air conditioner was now spitting out cold air like it had a direct conduit to the North Pole, Yugi was sure his mother wouldn't object. "Want me to call a cab for you? I'll pay for it."

"No, thank you. That's not necessary." Yami was using the hand not holding his head to brace himself against the wall. It appeared to be the only thing holding him upright.

"Well, you sure can't walk home. You can barely stay on your feet."

Yami gave a slow blink, as if staying awake took conscious effort. "Oh. Um, I'll call someone to come get me." He fumbled in his pocket for his phone.

Trying not to let his discontentment show, Yugi moved away to give Yami some privacy while he made his phone call. His mother appeared at the foot of the staircase and called up to him in a stage whisper, "You need to marry that man, Yu-chan!"

"_Mom_!"

"The house hasn't been this cool and comfortable in years, Yugi. And he's very attractive, as I'm sure you've noticed." She squinted at him, as if second-guessing her declaration. "You _have_ noticed, right? Or do I need to make an appointment to have your eyes checked?"

"I'm not blind! Of course, I've- I mean I- _Mom_!"

"Listen to your mother. Do _not_ let this man slip through your fingers. He's a _treasure_."

Blushing so hard he could practically feel the steam coming out of his ears, Yugi shot a quick look over his shoulder, but Yami was absorbed in his call and didn't appear to have noticed the conversation taking place on the stairs. Thanking the gods for small miracles, Yugi swooped down and hustled his mother into the kitchen.

"Please, please, _please_ don't say things like that where he can hear you."

His mother put her hands on her hips and Looked at him with the full weight of maternal disapproval. Feeling as if he'd suddenly devolved to the age of six, Yugi whined, "_Mooooom_!"

She shushed him with a flap of her hand. "Hush, Yu-chan, and go ask my future son-in-law what he would like for dinner."

Yugi buried his burning face in his palms. In a muffled voice, he said, "He can't stay, Mom."

"Of course he can! My future son-in-law is always welcome."

Groaning, Yugi shook his head. "I meant that he isn't feeling well and-"

"What? You mean that wonderful man is ill and you left him all alone? What's wrong with you? That's no way to treat your fiancé! Get up there and make sure he's okay."

Giving up on arguing with his (clearly_ insane_) mother, Yugi trudged back up the stairs. Maybe Yami had fixed the air conditioner too late and the heat had fried her brain. He'd just have to do his best to keep her from talking to Yami and saying something that would force Yugi to commit ritual _seppuku_ from sheer mortification.

Yami greeted him with a wan smile. It lacked his usual voltage, but still sent pleasant spikes through Yugi's innards. Yugi gulped and asked, "Um, are you-?"

"I called my, uh, friend to come pick me up."

"Huh?" Friend? Wasn't Yami new in town? When had he had time to make friends outside of work? It had better not be Ryou! No, couldn't be. Ryou didn't have a car... although, he could always rent one. Or get a taxi. Not that it mattered. If anyone was going to be giving Yugi's fiancé a ride, it would be Yugi! ...Wait. _Dammit_. What was he thinking? His mother's insanity must be contagious. "Sure. Okay. If that's what you want."

"He should be here in a few minutes. I can wait for him outside-"

Him? _Grr_. Then Yugi's brain caught up with his libido. "Don't be silly. It's really hot outside. We can wait in the shop." His eyes widened at his own presumption. "I... I mean, if you don't mind me keeping you company."

A gentle smile curved Yami's mouth. He reached out and cupped his hand around Yugi's cheek, his thumb stroking over Yugi's lower lip. "I'd like that."

_Nngh-guh_. Everything around Yugi went all soft-focus and glowy, and his knees lost their ability to lock. He sagged against the wall and tried not to look as if he might dissolve into a gooey puddle at any second. "Oh. Good."

"Yu-chan!" Yugi swallowed a groan as his mother popped through the doorway. "Have you invited this lovely man to stay for dinner?"

"Mom! I told you-" Yugi bit off his protest and gave Yami an apologetic smile. "Uh, we were going to ask you stay, but since you're not feeling well..."

Yami graced them both with a regretful look. "Forgive me, Mrs. Mutou, but I must ask for a rain-check."

She pouted, while Yugi tried not to actually expire from embarrassment. "I'm sorry you're unwell, dear. I'm so looking forward to getting to know you and I want you to feel at home here. You're always welcome, you know. How about coming for dinner on Saturday?"

A faint flush stained Yami's cheeks a charming rose color. "I would like that, Mrs. Mutou, but Yugi and I have already made plans to attend the reception at the museum on Saturday."

As pleased as Yugi was to hear that their date was still on, he cringed at the look of triumph in his mother's eyes. She fairly glowed with delight. "You have a date with Yugi?"

Ducking his head, Yami nodded. He'd averted his eyes, and so didn't see the thumbs-up she gave Yugi. "That's wonderful!" She clapped her hands and gave Yugi a beaming smile of approval. "Excellent work, Yu-chan. I'm proud of you."

"_Mom_!"

"I should probably get downstairs. My friend will be here any minute now-"

"Of course! Of course!" Without warning, Yugi's mom flung her arms around Yami and gave him a quick hug that caused Yami's eyes to go wide with shock and Yugi to nearly swallow his tongue. "Go with him, Yugi, and keep him company until his friend arrives." She gave Yami a parting pat on the cheek. "Come back to see us soon, dear."

When she'd gone, Yugi risked a nervous peek at his companion. "Um... Sorry about that. Apparently, my mom lost her mind when I wasn't looking."

"She's very... affectionate." Yami was still holding himself stiffly, as if afraid to relax in case he fell victim to another drive-by hugging.

Deciding they'd both be better off if they moved on to other subjects, Yugi said, "Ready to go back downstairs?"

"Yes." Yami sounded relieved. He swayed a bit when they began moving down the steps, and Yugi edged instinctively closer in case he stumbled. "Bakura doesn't like to be kept waiting. I'd never hear the end of it."

Wait. _What_? It probably wasn't possible for Yugi's heart to actually plummet into the soles of his feet, but that was certainly what it felt like. "So, Ryou's picking you up?"

Yami gave him a look of utter bafflement. "Who?"

"Ryou?" No trace of recognition illuminated Yami's confused expression. Well, that was oddly disappointing. Yami spent minutes flirting with the guy, accepted rides from him, and couldn't remember his first name? Yugi had expected better from him. "You know, _Ryou Bakura_? The blond guy you... met... at the game shop? The one driving you home?"

That got him another bemused blink. "Ryou's last name is Bakura?"

"You..." This wasn't processing. "You just _said_ 'Bakura'... How can you even...?"

"I think we're talking at cross purposes." Yami rubbed at his forehead, as if their conversation was making his headache worse. (Yugi told himself he didn't feel guilty about that.) "I didn't recall that Ryou's last name was Bakura. Coincidentally, my friend - the one who will be taking me home - is _also_ named Bakura but is _not_, in fact, Ryou."

"That's-"

"Strange, yes." Standing so he could see the street outside through the front window, Yami added, "'Bakura' is actually my friend's first name."

"Huh." Relief flooded Yugi's body. The odd coincidence of the names paled into insignificance compared to the single thought taking up most of his brain space: not Ryou, not Ryou, _not Ryou_! He sagged against a convenient display stand, feeling as if his legs alone couldn't hold him up. "That _is_ strange. We'll have to introduce him to Ryou, sometime."

An amused snort greeted this suggestion. "I'm not sure Ryou deserves to have Bakura inflicted upon him." Despite the strain still visible around his eyes, Yami grinned. "_I'd_ find it amusing, though."

"This Bakura sounds like a real character."

"You have no idea." Yami rolled his eyes. "I've known him most of my life and sometimes I still can't believe we're friends."

"He's from Egypt, too?"

"Yes. We grew up in the same village." Yami's gaze tracked back toward the window. "He's here. I'll see you at work tomorrow, Yugi."

Following the direction of Yami's gaze, Yugi spotted a huge black sedan that looked like it cost more than the Mutou's house and the shopping center combined. "_That's_ your friend's car?"

"Oh, um, it belongs to... the family he works for."

Obviously, Bakura's employers were loaded. Probably had a whole fleet of fancy cars, like Kaiba. "Is he their chauffeur?"

"Uh, no. More like bodyguard. Well, head of security, really. He's in charge of a whole team of bodyguards, but most of the time he insists on protecting... his employer... personally."

"Sounds like an exciting job."

"It can be." Yami turned to Yugi with a smile. "He really will have a fit if I keep him waiting. I'd better go."

"Okay. I'll, um, I'll see you in the morning." Yugi opened the door for him. "Thanks again for fixing the AC. And please don't worry about my mom's weird behavior. She's harmless. Really."

Yami laughed. "It's okay. I like her."

"Yeah?"

Another laugh. "Yeah."

"You do realize that if you don't show up for dinner soon, my mom will track you down and drag you back here by your hair, if necessary?"

"Just tell me when to show up." Humor sparkled in Yami's dark eyes. He stepped out onto the sidewalk, calling back over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow!"

Yugi watched him climb into the car and drive away. He stood there until the car was out of sight before locking the door and heading back upstairs to have dinner with his family.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I am seriously disappointed in you, Yu-chan."

Caught off-guard, Yugi stopped chewing and tried not to gape at his mother around his mouthful of meatloaf. "Huh? What'd I do?"

"It's what you _didn't_ do!" his mother corrected him, an impatient gesture adding emphasis to her unhappiness. "You didn't tell me about Yami. If it weren't for our broken air conditioner, it might have taken months before I got to meet my future son-in-law. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Oh, not this again. "Mom, I'm glad you like Yami. Really. But you can't keep calling him that. He might hear you!"

"What if he does?" His mother shrugged and speared a roasted carrot with her fork. "I want him to know that he's a welcome addition to our family."

"Oh, for- Mom! Yami and I are not engaged!"

"Well, of course you're not," Grandpa agreed, looking up from his plate, where he had been constructing a mashed potato pyramid. "Your first date isn't until Saturday. I figure it'll be at least Monday before you can pop the question."

Oh, dear god, had his entire family lost their minds? Yugi glared at his grandpa. "Just because you and Grandma got married after knowing each other a whopping three days- Wait a minute. How'd you know about our date? Did Mom-?"

"No." Grandpa chuckled. "Apparently, Rebecca Hawkins is none too happy at being thwarted. She's been complaining about it non-stop to Arthur."

"Oh."

"_Tch_. That girl's far too young for my Yu-chan." His mom patted the back of his hand where it rested on the table. "Besides, Yami's a much more suitable match."

It took every ounce of Yugi's willpower to resist the urge to bang his head onto the table. "_Mom_..." he groaned. "You don't even know anything about him!"

"Good point." She patted his hand again. "Tell me everything you know."

This time, he let his head hit the table with a loud _thunk_. The silverware rattled.

"Yugi!" his mom scolded, while Grandpa just laughed. "Stop being silly and tell me all about my future son-in-law."

"He's not your- He's just-" Seeing the look in his mother's eyes, Yugi surrendered with a sigh. "He's from Egypt."

It was going to be a long night.

-o0o-

_It was_, Yami thought, _going to be a long night_.

Bakura had started in on him the moment he'd gotten in the car. With his head apparently trying to come apart at the seams and his muscles feeling as if they had turned to water, Yami had been in no shape to do anything but lean back in the plush leather seat, close his eyes, and let the ranting roll over him. Then they had arrived at the hotel and, thanks to Bakura telling Isis about her 'idiot brother's indiscriminate summoning', he got to listen to the same lecture all over again, this time in a female voice and with fewer swear words. It hadn't been nearly as entertaining the second time around.

Isis had demanded that he hand over his tokens in order to prevent him from taxing his depleted reserves any further, should he be tempted to summon again. Yami hadn't had the heart to tell her he didn't, strictly speaking, require the tokens in order to call upon his Dark Realm friends. Sure, the tokens - which acted as a focus - made the summoning _easier_. But he had been able to summon Miu since he was a child, long before he had received his first soul-token.

Lying on his bed, one arm thrown over his eyes in a futile attempt to find sleep, he recalled the first time he had called the Kuriboh to him. He had been a lonely little boy, isolated from his peers and surrounded by adults who treated him as if he were something at once precious and terrifying. It had made for a strange childhood. It hadn't helped that he was prone to nightmares so realistic it felt as if he were re-living memories from another life. (This was, in fact, the case, though he hadn't found that out until much later).

It was after one such nightmare that he awoke, sobbing, to find a ball of brown fur perched on his pillow. The furball had cooed at him, patting his wet cheek with a pudgy green paw, and Yami had found curiosity over-riding the lingering dread of his dream. In his befuddled state, he had somehow decided the creature was a very strange, round cat and so had called him 'Miu', which meant 'cat' in the old tongue.

(In his defense, Yami was only three and had never before encountered a Kuriboh. Many years later, he had learned that Miu's real name, which was unpronounceable by humans, meant "fierce Fiend who devours his enemies' entrails and thoroughly enjoys it." Fortunately, Miu thought his "Light Realm name" was amusing and treated it as an affectionate nickname.)

The bedroom door cracked open, letting in a sliver of light that stabbed right into Yami's brain, even through the shield of his arm. He groaned and rolled away from the source of the fresh agony.

"Sorry." Bakura's voice was hushed. He had dealt with Yami in this state before, suffering from a migraine brought on by over-extending his power. Yami knew that the helplessness his guard felt at times like this drove the man mad. "I brought your medicine."

With a grunt of thanks, Yami forced himself to sit up long enough to swallow the pill his bodyguard offered. He sank back onto the pillows, the down seeming as soft and comforting as a granite slab beneath his head. Bakura hovered, his need to do _something_ almost tangible.

"I'll be fine." It came out as a hoarse croak.

"I know." If anything, the sense of the man hovering intensified.

"You could get me a cold compress for my head," Yami offered, after a long moment's strained silence. It wouldn't help the migraine, but it might make Bakura feel better.

Soft footsteps headed toward the en suite. Bakura returned a minute later and, with gentle hands, placed a folded washcloth on Yami's forehead. The cool, damp cloth felt good against his overheated skin for the few seconds before it began to warm. Anticipating this, Bakura turned the cloth over, so the cool side was once again touching Yami's face.

"I hate it when you do this to yourself." Bakura's voice was barely a sigh. "To see you in such pain and know there's nothing I can do... And for what? No good reason that I can see."

_You're right_, Yami thought but didn't say. It was foolish and irresponsible, and now he was paying the price for it. It worried him that a part of him felt it had been worth it to make Yugi happy. He rolled onto his side again, in a futile search for a position that would alleviate the pain. "I didn't realize that I had overused my magic to such an extent."

"Moron," came the fond insult. "From now on, no summoning without the appropriate precautions. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mother."

"I'm serious, Atem." And he was; Bakura hadn't called him by his personal name in... _ever_. His voice was thick when he continued. "You scared at least a decade off my life with this stunt. My blood pressure may never recover."

"...Sorry," Yami said, and meant it.

"You're not allowed to die on me, Your Majesty. And not just because we apparently need you around to save the world or some such nonsense." Shoes scuffed against carpet as Bakura shifted. "Rest. I'll be outside if you need me."

The door closed behind the bodyguard, plunging the room back into darkness. Yami knew that Bakura would be on the other side of the door all night, ready to spring into action if Yami called for him. It was both comforting and humbling.

Forcing his thoughts to still, Yami concentrated on slowing his breathing in a pain-management technique one of Isis' pet healers had taught him. It was still a long time before sleep claimed him.

-o0o-

Yugi's day started all right (if far too early). He had a friendly chat with Ryou, who swore he'd spent a comfortable night in the stock room, and then got the shop ready to open. He had just unlocked the front and flipped the sign on the door to 'open' when the phone rang.

"Kame Game Shop Number Two, Yugi speaking." He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear, and fussed with the card display on the counter. "How may I help you?"

"Mr. Mutou, this is Bakura Ishtar," said the unfamiliar voice on the other end of the phone line. "I'm calling on Yami's behalf."

Freezing, Yugi forgot all about the display. "Is he all right?"

"I'm afraid not. He isn't feeling well and won't be able to come in to work, today."

Oh, no. Yami's fainting spell must have been more serious than either of them had thought. Had it been from more than the heat? Had he hit his head when he fell? "Has he seen a doctor?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. It's nothing too serious, a bad migraine." Bakura's tone was brisk, businesslike. "He wanted me to extend his sincere regret for having to miss work and to apologize for the inconvenience."

"Hey, no... He needs to take care of himself. Tell him not to worry about it."

When Bakura responded, his voice sounded warmer. "I'll do that, Mr. Mutou. He should be able to work tomorrow - and he was quite insistent that I make certain you knew he would still like to accompany you to the museum reception on Saturday."

Warmth filled Yugi's chest. "Oh. Um. Me, too. I mean, I want to, too. With him, I mean."

A soft chuckle sounded in his ear. "He will be pleased."

The chime on the door announced the first customer of the day. "Um, I have to go-"

"Of course. Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Mutou." The line went dead and Yugi went to work.

Alone.

-o0o-

By the time he closed the shop for a well-deserved lunch, Yugi couldn't believe he had ever been capable of running the shopping center without Yami's help. More even than the assistance, he had come to rely on Yami's company. Just having him around made the day go by so much faster.

When Joey stopped by on his own lunch break - he was a security guard at the Domino Museum - Yugi jumped at the chance not to have to eat alone. They hopped across the parking lot to Burger World, Yugi listening with half an ear as Joey bitched about working weekends for the next month.

They ordered, found an empty booth near the window, and set about adding extra condiments to their burgers and drowning their fries in lakes of ketchup. Somewhere between the first bite of his Big'n'Cheesy and watching Joey inhale half an apple pie in one gulp (Joey was a firm believer in the philosophy of "you never know what might happen, so eat dessert first!"), Yugi's thoughts drifted back to Yami.

"Yo! Earth to Yugi!"

Blinking tired eyes open, Yugi found himself face-to-bun with his burger, courtesy of his best friend. Satisfied he had Yugi's undivided attention; Joey set the cheeseburger back onto Yugi's plastic tray and shook his head in mock despair. "Yugi, man…. You have _got_ to take some time off. I've never seen you space out in the middle of a burger before. It just ain't natural."

Yugi groaned. "I can't take any time off. You know that."

"Huh?" Joey paused in mid-bite of his own quadruple-patty Beefinator. Dripping mayo and mustard, a pickle slid out and went _splat_ on the table. "I thought you hired someone to help out?"

"Kind of. I mean, I hired a handyman to take care of maintenance and repairs. And he's been helping me stock and things like that in the shop, but he doesn't have any retail experience. So, I'm still doing all of the customer related stuff myself." Yugi chewed listlessly on a french fry. "He's a really great guy, too, but I'm still dead on my feet."

"So, when do I get to meet this 'really great guy'?"

It took Yugi a couple of seconds to process the question. "Uh… Why would you want to meet my handyman?"

"Why not?" Joey squinted at him. "There something about this guy you're not tellin' me?"

"What? No!"

"Then why don'tcha want me to meet him? Huh?" Joey gave Yugi a shrewd look over the rim of his Jumbo Gulp soda. "Has he got, like, an extra eye in the middle of his forehead or somethin'?"

"Joey!" Yugi's face felt as if it were on fire. He hid it behind his own huge soda cup. "It's nothing like that. I've just… never had an actual employee before. I'm not sure what's appropriate."

"Ah, c'mon. You're gonna be workin' with this guy every day. I just wanna make sure he's gonna treat ya right."

"You make it sound like I'm gonna marry him or something," Yugi groused. Which he _wasn't_, no matter what his delusional family thought. (Not that he would _mind_ marrying Yami. The honeymoon alone would be the stuff dreams - and pornos - were made of.)

Joey gave a shrewd look. "So, you _are_ attracted to this guy. Thought so."

"What? I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. You get that dreamy look in your eyes every time you mention him." Joey sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "So, like I said, I gotta check him out. Make sure he's good enough for my li'l buddy."

Yugi's head _thunked_ against a clear space on the table top between them, narrowly missing the pickle.

"Seriously, Yug', I wanna meet this guy." Joey cracked his knuckles. "Make sure he knows what'll happen to him if he breaks your heart."

Turning his head so that one eye could deliver a baleful glare, Yugi said, "You know you're not actually my big brother... Right?"

"Closest thing to." A self-satisfied smirk curved Joey's mouth up at the corners. "I'm beginning to think there's more to this than you just havin' the hots for this guy. Maybe I should bring Tristan in for the meet-'n-greet?"

"Do it and I will never speak to you again." Straightening, Yugi added, "Better yet, I'll tell your sister the real reason Duke stopped calling her."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

"Fine." They glared at one another for several seconds. Joey caved first. "_Fine_. I won't play overprotective big brother with the guy. But I still wanna meet this...Uh, what'd you say his name was?"

"I didn't." Yugi sighed and took a fortifying sip of soda. "His name's Yami."

"Right. I still wanna meet this 'Yami'."

Recognizing defeat when it ground its boot heel into his face, Yugi nodded. "You're working this Saturday?"

"Yeah. They've got me on security detail for that fancypants reception." Joey fixed a skeptical eye on Yugi. "Why?"

"Uh, it's possible that I might sort of have made plans to maybe go to the reception... with Yami."

"Forget what I said. If he's taking you out, he _definitely_ gets the 'overprotective big brother' routine."

"Joey!"

"Don't 'Joey' me." The stern expression on Joey's usually affable features shut down Yugi's further protests. "You know I worry about you."

"I'm a big boy, Joey. I can take care of myself."

"Most of the time, yeah. But you've got a big heart. Not that that's a _bad_ thing. It just means you always look for the good in everyone and sometimes... You know you can be a little too trusting."

That blunt honesty was both one of the things Yugi valued about his friend and, also, totally unfair. He felt his lower lip poke out in what he refused to acknowledge was a pout. "That was _one time_-"

"Two words: Seto Kaiba."

"That was in high school! And I thought we agreed never to speak of it again."

"You thought he just needed a friend."

"He _does_ need a fri-"

"What he needs is a boot to the head and a stick-ectomy." Joey had always maintained that Kaiba's middle name was "Stick-Up-the-Ass". "The guy's a Grade-A asshole. Remember how he reacted when you tried to be his friend?"

"Uh…" Yeah. That hadn't been one of Yugi's shining moments. Kaiba hadn't just refused Yugi's offer of friendship, he'd cut it dead, chopped it into bite-sized pieces, and danced on its grave. Yugi sighed and toyed with his straw. "Yeah, okay. That was a mistake. But Yami's not like that."

"So, you'll introduce us on Saturday?"

"I… guess so."

"Awesome. I'll hold you to that." Clearly pleased with his victory, Joey chomped a huge bite out of his hamburger. "It'll be great. You'll see."

All Yugi could do was hope those didn't turn out to be famous last words.

* * *

(Y'all would not believe the crappy month I'm having. Reviews would be like a life-preserver in the neverending sea of suck.)


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